Anesthesia for a long-term anorexic patient with end-stage liver cirrhosis: A case report

Abstract

Recent advancements in intensive care have increased the number of severe anorexia nervosa patients presenting for surgery. We provided anesthesia to a patient who had a 22-year history of anorexia with life-threatening cirrhosis. Although surgery should be avoided in patients with end-stage cirrhosis, she was in the best preoperative optimized condition compared to her condition over the past few years. Potential complications are heart failure easily caused by deterioration of cirrhosis, lethal arrhythmias related to electrolyte disturbances and increased myocardial sensitivity to drugs, and refeeding syndrome in the postoperative period. The several rare events that we experienced are worth reporting.