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Pica - Symptom

Síntomas:

Los niños y adultos con pica pueden comer:

Heces de animales
Barro
Tierra
Bolas de pelo
Hielo
Pintura
Arena

Este patrón de comer debe durar al menos un mes para encajar dentro del diagnóstico de pica.

Signos y exámenes:

No existe un examen único que confirme la pica. Sin embargo, debido a que ésta puede ocurrir en personas que tengan niveles de nutrientes por debajo de lo normal y mala nutrición (desnutrición), el médico debe examinar los niveles de hierro y zinc en la sangre.

También se pueden hacer exámenes de sangre para comprobar si hay anemia. Siempre se deben verificar los niveles de plomo en los niños que pueden haber ingerido pintura u objetos cubiertos de polvo de pintura a base de plomo para ver si hay intoxicación por plomo.

El médico debe hacer pruebas para infección si la persona ha estado comiendo tierra o desechos animales contaminados.

Reviewed last on: 2/28/2010
Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine; Michelle Benger Merrill, MD, Instructor in Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

Referencias

Boris NW, Dalton R. Vegetative disorders. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 22.

Brittenham GM. Disorders of iron metabolism: Iron deficiency and iron overload. In: Hoffman R, Benz EJ, Shattil SS, et al, eds. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 36.

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