A case of gastric atony on bulimia nervosa

Abstract

Introduction: Bulimia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating. Case Presentation: We present a 24-year-old female patient with severe abdominal pain and distension after binge eating. This patient was admitted to the Chosun University hospital in Gwangju, Republic of Korea, on January 2017. In spite of conservative treatment, the symptoms were more aggravated. Therefore, we decided to conduct operative intervention. After gastrotomy, massive bleeding showed on nasogastric tube and drain site, then disseminated intravascular coagulopathy was developed. On the third postoperative day, the patient died despite of resuscitation. Conclusions: We should pay attention to gastric atony in bulimia nervosa. Therefore, we must prevent massive gastric dilation, constant gastrointestinal bleeding, and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy.