A rare complication of pica: Tile fragment aspiration: Case report

Abstract

Pica is a condition with an unknown etiology and related to iron deficiency anemia most of the time. Intestinal obstruction and lead toxicity are the common complications of pica, whereas stone aspiration has not been reported before as a complication. A one-year-old male patient with a history of pica admitted to our clinic with respiratory distress symptomps. Respiratory distress occurred after he took a tile fragment in his mouth. The physical examination of the patient revealed decreased respiratory sounds in the right hemithoraks. Apart from an opacity in the right main bronchus, the chest X-ray was normal. We performed rigid bronchoscopy and removed a tile fragment from the right main bronchus. To our knowledge, there is no any publication in the literature related to stone aspiration in patients with pica. © 2010 by Türkiye Klinikleri.