“End-stage kidney” in longstanding bulimia nervosa

Abstract

The extent of renal damage over long-term binge/purges has not been well documented in bulimia nervosa (BN). We describe a 52-year-old woman with longstanding BN subsequent to an 8-year history of anorexia nervosa (AN). The patient showed chaotic binge/purges and chronic severe hypokalemia after recovery from AN at age 26 years, and renal biopsy showed juxtaglomerular hyperplasia, which was diagnosed as pseudo-Bartter's syndrome. Over the following 26 years, the patient's eating behaviors remained chaotic, and her renal function gradually deteriorated. After the patient died of pneumonia and sepsis at age 52 years, autopsy of her kidney showed chronic interstitial nephritis, proximal tubular swelling, and diffuse glomerular sclerosis, suggesting chronic glomerular injury associated with long-term binge/purges. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient with BN with long-term binge/purges who developed an eventual "end-stage kidney" characterized by hypokalemic nephropathy and diffuse glomerulosclerosis.