Pneumococcal sepsis associated with adrenal apoplexy in a young woman with anorexia nervosa

Submitted: 2 May 2013
Accepted: 2 May 2013
Published: 3 May 2013
Abstract Views: 1311
PDF: 882
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

BACKGROUND A crude rate of mortality of 5% has been quoted for anorexia nervosa in recent studies. Nowadays the mechanism of death is unclear and various authors recommend that any anorexia nervosa death be reported and that, where possible, an autopsy be performed.
METHODS In this work we present a case of sudden death in anorexia nervosa with unexpected autopsy findings. A 21-years-old woman with long-standing anorexia nervosa, severely underweight with a body mass index of 14.47 kg/m2, has been taken to the Emergency Department in very critical conditions. Despite the attempts of resuscitation, she died shortly afterwards. Therefore an autopsy has been requested in order to clarify the causes of death.
RESULTS The clinical picture, laboratory parameters, histology and microbiological investigations were consistent with pneumococcal sepsis associated adrenal apoplexy.
CONCLUSIONS The cause of death in anorexia nervosa cannot reliably be established from antemortem clinical features. All anorexia nervosa deaths should be reported together with description of necropsy. This may lead to advances in the knowledge and treatment practices.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Vitola, N. M., Lo Pardo, D., Cirillo, R., De Roberto, M., Crocco, P. G., & Caputo, D. (2013). Pneumococcal sepsis associated with adrenal apoplexy in a young woman with anorexia nervosa. Italian Journal of Medicine, 2(2), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2008.2.25