PHILIP D. LEMING, M.D.; DAVID C. REED, B.S.; ORLANDO J. MARTELO, M.D.
Patients with iron deficiency, in addition to anemia, may have unusual dietary cravings termed pica. Although this is affected by social and cultural norms, patients may crave such substances as dirt, clay, ice or starch. We report an unusual case of pica associated with severe iron deficiency.
A 74-year-old black woman presented with fatigue, congestive heart failure, severe microcytic hypochromic anemia, negative history for blood loss, and negative stool for occult blood. Hemoglobin was 2.7 g/dL; hematocrit, 8.7%; erythrocyte count, 1.33 × 106 cells/mm3; leukocyte count, 9500 cells/mm3; platelet count 534 000 cells/mm3; reticulocyte count, 3.8%; and mean corpuscular volume
LEMING PD, REED DC, MARTELO OJ. Magnesium Carbonate Pica: An Unusual Case of Iron Deficiency. Ann Intern Med. ;94:660. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-94-5-660
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© 2019
Published: Ann Intern Med. 1981;94(5):660.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-94-5-660
Hematology/Oncology.