Kushner et al (4) describes re-emergent pica after bariatric surgery in 2 patients with pagophagia associated with concomitant iron deficiency anemia.
Common themes in these case reports are female sex, Roux-en-Y, and dramatic resurgence of previously noted pica behaviors after gastric bypass surgery Several studies have shown that pagophagia and pica in patients who are iron deficient or have iron deficiency anemia can be rapidly curbed with iron supplements.
Pica Terminology Term Nonfood substance Amylophagia Laundry starch Cautopyreiophagia Burnt matches Coprophagia Feces Foliophagia Dirt, sand, clay Lithophagia Rocks, pebbles, gravel Pagophagia Ice, freezer frost Plumbophagia Paint chips Trichophagia Hair Nutritional/Dietary Factors
Pagophagia, the practice of eating ice or freezer frost, is another form of pica.
It is possible that excessive consumption of cold water is a common form of pagophagia in South Africa.
Pagophagia, or compulsive ice consumption: a historical perspective.
Clinical features of IDA include pallor,
pagophagia, irritability, anorexia and reduced attention span, alertness and learning12.
Pica for ice (pagophagia) and eating of dry macaroni was defined as pica and not as food craving.
The other 8 patients all had a single form of pica only, namely pagophagia (4 patients), geophagia (soil-eating in 2 and clay-eating in 1) and dry macaroni (1).
Seven of the 9 white patients with pica had pagophagia (77.8%), compared with two out of the 7 black patients with pica (28.6%) (Fisher's exact test p=0.1262).
Studies have shown that the prevalence of pica is highest in iron-deficient populations, and that the presence of pagophagia is a particularly strong indicator of iron deficiency anemia.
Pagophagia, a type of eating disorder, is the compulsive consumption of ice.
