Key result
Severe anorexia nervosa is linked to large pericardial effusions that can progress to cardiac tamponade.
Why the study?
Anorexia nervosa is associated with cardiovascular complications including pericardial effusion, but its progression to cardiac tamponade requiring surgical intervention is rarely reported.
Case Report (n=1)
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Tamponade risk warrants vigilance in AN with effusion; case reports leave open whether screening improves outcomes.
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex psychiatric disorder that can have devastating cardiovascular complications. Its lesser-known association with pericardial effusion has been recently described in the literature. We present the case of a 45 year-old female who presented with a recurrent small bowel obstruction requiring lysis of adhesions and who was found to have a large pericardial effusion that progressed to cardiac tamponade necessitating surgical intervention. The patient had a body mass index of 14.8 kg/m2 (i.e. 71% of ideal body weight) and a long-standing history of food aversion, extreme exercise habits, and weight obsession consistent with AN. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of AN-associated cardiac tamponade in the United States, and the first requiring surgical intervention. In conclusion, with this and current data regarding AN-associated pericardial effusions, we recommend a low threshold for performing pre-operative echocardiography for those in whom AN is suspected.
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Kircher et al. (2012) conducted a case report in Anorexia nervosa (n=1). Anorexia nervosa was evaluated on Cardiac tamponade. Severe anorexia nervosa can be associated with the development of large pericardial effusions that may progress to cardiac tamponade requiring surgical intervention.
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