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Case Reports
. 2016 Nov 15:2016:bcr2016215638.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2016-215638.

Kwashiorkor: an unexpected complication to anorexia nervosa

Camilla Viola Buskbjerg Palm  1 , Jacob Stampe Frølich  1 , Lena Sønder Snogdal  2 , René Klinkby Støving  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Kwashiorkor: an unexpected complication to anorexia nervosa

Camilla Viola Buskbjerg Palm et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

We present the case of a woman aged 48 years, diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) at the age of 12. She was admitted to a highly specialised eating disorder facility with distended abdomen, muscular atrophy, ulcerative dermatitis, electrolyte derangements and low serum albumin. Her weight was 53.1 kg, corresponding to a body mass index (BMI) of 17.9 kg/m2 After initial stabilisation, a therapeutic ascites puncture relieved the patient from 6500 mL of ascites. After 6 weeks of nutritional and diuretic treatment, the patient was discharged with a weight of 46.8 kg (BMI 15.7 kg/m2), without ascites and with healed ulcerations. The condition was consistent with kwashiorkor, a complication to malnutrition rarely seen in AN.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distended and diffuse tender abdomen at admission.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Extremities with atrophy of the muscles, dry skin and multiple small ulcerations.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Biochemistry. Asterisk indicates deviation from references. ALT, alanine transaminase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; GGT, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; KFNT, coagulation factor II, VII, X; HbA1C, glycated haemoglobin; T3, triiodothyronine; T4, thyroxine.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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