Indian Journal of Private Psychiatry

Register      Login

VOLUME 16 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2022 ) > List of Articles

CASE REPORT

A Rare Presentation of Anorexia Nervosa as Cardiac Failure in an Adolescent Girl

Namitha Das, Sandhya Cherkil, Thoduka Rajan John

Citation Information : Das N, Cherkil S, John TR. A Rare Presentation of Anorexia Nervosa as Cardiac Failure in an Adolescent Girl. Ind J Priv Psychiatry 2022; 16 (1):42-43.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10067-0103

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 16-03-2022

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2022; The Author(s).


Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to highlight the systemic life-threatening manifestations of anorexia nervosa (AN). Background: AN is a psychiatric disorder commonly seen among young females with significant systemic manifestations and the highest mortality among psychiatric disorders. Description: We present the case of an athletic adolescent girl (after obtaining written consent for publication from her father) presenting to the emergency department in shock with cardiac failure. She also had hypoalbuminemia and multiple electrolyte disturbances like hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, and hypophosphatemia. She underwent extensive evaluation including coronary angiogram and other appropriate tests to rule out malabsorption syndrome. In the absence of organic causes, and as she gave a history of deliberate food restriction, she underwent a psychiatric evaluation. She was found to be a perfectionist with obsessive personality traits. She started to restrict her diet due to fear of gaining weight as she got bullied by her peers in the new school. There was a significant weight loss of almost 14 kg over a period of 6 months. Additionally, she had depressive symptoms like decreased mood, anhedonia, and lack of energy and initiative, concentration difficulties, and an apparent academic decline. Conclusion: She met the criteria for the diagnosis of AN—restrictive type severe, comorbid with major depressive disorder, and was started on combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy with fluoxetine leading to a dramatic clinical improvement. Clinical significance: The case highlights the life-threatening complications of AN and the role of timely psychiatric interventions in managing these patients.


HTML PDF Share
  1. Smink FR, Van Hoeken D, Hoek HW. Epidemiology of eating disorders: incidence, prevalence and mortality rates. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2012;14(4):406–414. DOI: 10.1007/s11920-012-0282-y.
  2. Hay P, Girosi F, Mond J. Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of DSM-5 eating disorders in the Australian population. J Eat Disord 2015;3(1):19. DOI: 10.1186/s40337-015-0056-0.
  3. Steinhausen HC, Jensen CM. Time trends in lifetime incidence rates of first-time diagnosed anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa across 16 years in a Danish nationwide psychiatric registry study. Int J Eat Disord 2015;48(7):845–850. DOI: 10.1002/eat.22402.
  4. Steinhausen HC. The outcome of anorexia nervosa in the 20th century. Am J Psychiatry 2002;159(8):1284–1293. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.8.1284.
  5. Harris C, Barraclough B. Excess mortality of mental disorder. Br J Psychiatry 1998;173(1):11–53. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.173.1.11.
  6. Arcelus J, Mitchell AJ, Wales J, et al. Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: a meta-analysis of 36 studies. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2011;68(7):724–731. DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74.
  7. Smink FR, Van Hoeken D, Hoek HW. Epidemiology of eating disorders: incidence, prevalence and mortality rates. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2012;14(4):406–414. DOI: 10.1007/s11920-012-0282-y.
  8. Yilmaz Z, Hardaway JA, Bulik CM. Genetics and epigenetics of eating disorders. Adv Genomics Genet 2015;5:131. DOI: 10.2147/AGG.S55776.
  9. Kaye WH, Wierenga CE, Bailer UF, et al. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels: the neurobiology of anorexia nervosa. Trends Neurosci 2013;36(2):110–120. DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2013.01.003.
  10. Fernandez-Aranda F, Poyastro Pinheiro A, Tozzi F, et al. Symptom profile of major depressive disorder in women with eating disorders. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2007;41(1):24–31. DOI: 10.1080/00048670601057718.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.