Acute Intermittent Porphyria: Some Diagnoses are Only Made If Thought of

Abstract

A 20-year-old Asian, female, student nurse of thin body habitus (Body Mass Index 16.5) but otherwise previously well had numerous admissions to our centre under a variety of surgical sub-specialities over a 5-month period. Each month, coinciding with menses, she complained of non-specific abdominal discomfort in the absence of any other symptoms. With the exception of the presence of a sinus tachycardia coupled with incidental hyponatraemia full physical examinations and routine baseline investigations were unremarkable…