Gastric bypass surgery contributing to hyperammonaemic encephalopathy: an under-reported cause of severe nutritional deficiency and significant patient mortality

Gastric bypass surgery contributing to hyperammonaemic encephalopathy: an under-reported cause of severe nutritional deficiency and significant patient mortality

Gastric-bypass associated hyperammonaemia (GaBHA) is an under-recognised cause of non-hepatic encephalopathy that is associated with significant mortality and has limited reporting in published literature.
GaBHA has been reported predominately in middle-aged females with a past surgical history of Roux-En-Y surgical procedure. Individuals may present at any stage post-surgery and an important minority may have an undiagnosed inherited metabolic disorder.
We report a case of a 49 year old woman who presented acutely with encephalopathy, a significantly elevated plasma ammonia level, and substantial multifactorial nutritional deficiency which required correction with intensive enteral and parenteral nutritional support. This case represented a diagnostic and management challenge for acute medical physicians and the multidisciplinary team involved.

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Gastric bypass surgery contributing to hyperammonaemic encephalopathy: an under-reported cause of severe nutritional deficiency and significant patient mortality

28th March 2022
PMID: 35342908
Authors Affiliations
William Dace Department of Acute Medicine, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB
Ankur Srivastava Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB
Danielle Milne Department of Dietetics, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB
Adam Howden Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB
Helena Kemp
Nathan Cantley

Gastric bypass surgery contributing to hyperammonaemic encephalopathy: an under-reported cause of severe nutritional deficiency and significant patient mortality

Cite this article as:

Dace W, Srivastava A, Milne D, Howden A, Kemp H, Cantley N. Gastric bypass surgery contributing to hyperammonaemic encephalopathy: an under-reported cause of severe nutritional deficiency and significant patient mortality. Acute Med. 2022;21(1):34-42. doi: 10.52964/AMJA.0890. PMID: 35342908.

Gastric bypass surgery contributing to hyperammonaemic encephalopathy: an under-reported cause of severe nutritional deficiency and significant patient mortality

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