Mysterious Case Unfolds: Boy Rushed to Hospital with Bile Vomiting, ‘Objects of Impact’ Discovered Above

Pica, an eating disorder involving the consumption of non-food substances
In adults, it appears as anxiety and stress.

In Germany, a teenager who found a rubber glove in his stomach swallowed the tape and returned to hospital two days later. This is due to pica, a mental illness that involves consuming non-food substances.

On the 26th (local time), pediatric medical staff at Bielefeld University Bethel Children’s Center in Germany announced that a 16-year-old boy from Ukraine with autism spectrum disorder visited the hospital with his guardian after vomiting bile for two days .

The medical staff suspected pica after seeing parts of unknown string and small plastic mixed in the vomit. As a result of esophagogastroduodenoscopy, it was confirmed that there was a rubber glove in the stomach.

Initially the medical staff tried to pull the glove out with forceps, but it only moved up to the esophagus and went no further. Eventually, after inserting a plastic tube and applying a muscle relaxant, I was able to remove the gloves with forceps.

Group A, which found no additional damage to the stomach or ulcer, was examined for any abnormalities in hospital and discharged on the same day.

However, two days later, Group A swallowed the rubber glove again and went to the emergency room to have it surgically removed. Afterwards, Person A ended up in hospital after swallowing fabric flowers, woolen strings, and 20 cm long tape.

Pica is a type of eating disorder that involves the repeated eating of non-food items. It often occurs in infants, occurs between the ages of 1 and 2, and symptoms ease as they grow. The items eaten vary depending on age. Young children often eat paint, plaster, hair, string, and rags, while older children often eat animal waste, sand, insects, leaves, and pebbles.

Pica can also occur in pregnant women and people with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disabilities. The cause is unclear, but it is known to be caused by a lack of nutrients such as iron or zinc, extreme anxiety, excessive stress, chronic depression, and drug addiction.

Poverty, ignorance, child abuse, parental psychopathological problems, developmental delay, and family conflict are known to increase the risk of developing pica. If your child shows symptoms of pica, you should visit the hospital as soon as possible. Treatment of pica includes reversal therapy using mild electrical stimulation, unpleasant sounds, or smells, positive/negative reinforcement techniques, behavior shaping methods, and overcorrection methods.

Complications that can occur due to pica must also be treated. Eating materials such as paper, Styrofoam, and hair can cause further damage as they accumulate in the body and cause nutritional deficiencies, intestinal obstruction, tooth damage, intestinal infections, iron deficiency, and lead poisoning.

Bethel Children’s Center medical staff who treated Group A said, “Paporamas have different treatments and complications depending on the substance the patient swallowed,” and added, “If a rubber glove is swallowed, it hardens in the stomach , making it difficult to remove, and there is a high risk of complications.”

Reporter Choi Seung-woo loonytuna@asiae.co.kr