Pediatric early-phase anorexia nervosa without hypokalemia exhibiting acute tubular injury: a case report

Anorexia nervosa can lead to kidney complications. Few studies reported kidney biopsy results in young adults, most of whom had chronic anorexia nervosa, and kidney biopsy findings in pediatric patients with early-phase anorexia nervosa are rarely reported. A 14-year-old girl who lost weight due to excessive exercise and reduced diet was admitted for kidney dysfunction. She was 147 cm tall and weighed 32.9 kg, with a body mass index of 15.2 kg/m². She was 39 kg about a year earlier. Her heart rate and blood pressure were 30–40 beats/min and 108/68 mmHg, respectively. She had kidney dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate, 56.6 mL/min/1.73 m²). Urine β2-microglobulin was slightly elevated (393 μg/L), and percent tubular phosphate reabsorption was low (75.2%), suggesting tubular damage; however, hypokalemia was absent. Kidney dysfunction did not improve with fluid loading. Kidney biopsy revealed that all glomeruli were intact, with no vasculitis, interstitial inflammation or fibrosis on light microscopy. However, proximal tubular epithelial walls were flattened and the brush border was absent, suggesting acute tubular injury. Immunofluorescent staining was negative for immunoglobulins and complement proteins, and electron microscopy showed no significant electron-dense deposition. The patient’s serum creatinine gradually declined, normalizing on the 17th day of admission. Unlike previous reports in young adults, kidney dysfunction was observed even in the absence of hypokalemia in the current pediatric patient with early-phase anorexia nervosa. Proximal tubular injury in early-phase anorexia nervosa may be caused by bradycardia without hypokalemia, leading to subsequent kidney dysfunction.