Abdominal Aortic Blood Flow Disturbance Due to Binge Eating

Excerpt

A 38-year-old man visited our emergency department with symptoms of abdominal distention (Fig. 1). He suffered from anorexia nervosa, repeatedly refusing food and overeating. He said that he had more than 10 meals at lunch. His abdominal distention was prominent and cyanosis of the lower limb was observed (Fig. 2). An abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan indicated that the descending aorta was pressed by the expanded stomach, and blockage of blood flow was observed (Fig. 3). Free gas was also found in the peritoneal cavity. Therefore, we performed an urgent laparotomy and punctured the stomach to reduce the pressure; however, pulseless ventricular fibrillation occurred during surgery. He died after resuscitation was not successful in restoring his normal heart rate. His blood potassium was 10.3 mEq/l.

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