• Sinéad Ní Bhraonáin.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
• J Emerg Med. 2013 Jan 1;44(1):72-4.

BackgroundReintroduction of nutrition to the chronically starved patient presents a constellation of metabolic challenges termed "refeeding syndrome." The consequences of this syndrome--principally hypophosphatemia--may be life threatening. Although previously described in the nutritional literature, little information exists on this syndrome written from the perspective of the emergency physician.ObjectivesTo promote the early use of prophylactic electrolyte replacement in patients at risk of refeeding syndrome.Case ReportWe present the case of a 32-year-old woman with self-inflicted starvation who developed severe hypophosphatemia, hypocalcemia, and hypomagnesemia due to unintended refeeding in the emergency department (ED).ConclusionsThe acute complications of refeeding syndrome may present during a patient's stay in the ED or during the transition from the ED to a critical care area, and thus this syndrome deserves consideration from the moment a starved patient presents to our triage desks.Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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