Exposure plus prevention of bingeing vs. exposure plus prevention of vomiting in bulimia nervosa. A crossover study

Abstract

In a crossover study, 11 bulimic patients divided into two groups of six and five patients underwent six sessions of exposure and response prevention of bingeing (ERPB) or exposure and response prevention of vomiting (ERPV) over 3 weeks. After a buffer period of 3 weeks, they were crossed over to six sessions of the other treatment. High drop-out rates, particularly during the ERPB phases, precluded full use of the crossover design. The two treatments yielded similar reduction in binge-vomit frequencies and in other between-session measures. Within-session measures, however, showed significant differences between the two treatments. ERPB was less time-consuming and led to greater reductions of urges to binge, anxiety, and liking of food. Overall improvement of patients in both groups was reasonable and further supports the usefulness of exposure techniques in the treatment of bulimic patients.