Hypertransaminasemia and hypophosphoremia in an adolescent with anorexia nervosa: an event to watch for

BACKGROUND: Anorexia Nervosa is a Psychiatric eating disorder of adolescence age with a high morbidity and mortality. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a common case of anorexia nervosa (AN) in a female adolescent complicated by less known conditions related to refeeding syndrome. At admission, the girl showed a mild hypercholesterolemia with progressive normalization of the values. The initial low hypertransaminasemia worsened after refeeding until very high levels and hypophosphoremia was also described. Only a controlled caloric intake and a specific electrolyte supplementation led to the improvement of hematologic values and the clinical condition of the patient. CONCLUSIONS: Refeeding complications must be always suspected because of life-threatening risk. More attention should be paid not only to the acute state of the disease but also to the prevention and the management of refeeding-related manifestations.