Abstract
Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) may have many complications affecting various organs. Regarding the gastrointestinal tract, acute gastric dilatation and rupture by refeeding or duodenal ileus due to mesenteric artery compression have been reported. Respiratory complications are uncommon in AN. A rare complication is spontaneous pneumomediastinum, and only a few reported cases exist. We report here a case of AN complicated by tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), which is an abnormal connection between the esophagus and the trachea. To our knowledge, TEF accompanying AN has not been reported in the English literature, although we have reported this condition in Japanese, where we discussed the cause of long-term hospitalization in the light of the limited medical resources for the treatment of physical complications in AN in Japan. Here, we focus our discussion on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of TEF in AN. The case we describe should be informative not only for psychiatrists but also surgeons and intensive care specialists who manage the physical complications of AN. Some social and demographic details were altered to anonymize the case.
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