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Delayed diagnosis of trichobezoar in a patient with presumed anorexia nervosa

  • Nadia E. Saldanha EMAIL logo , Jonathan A. Meisel , Jose M. Prince , Ronald Feinstein and Martin Fisher
Published/Copyright: August 12, 2014

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa is a medical and psychological disorder classically seen in young women who present with significant weight loss, a distorted body image, and an intense fear of gaining weight despite being underweight. A rare diagnosis that is also associated with weight loss is a trichobezoar, a collection of hair or hair-like fibers in the gastrointestinal tract, primarily in the stomach. In this report, we present the case of a 14.5-year-old girl with weight loss caused by a trichobezoar, initially thought to be due to anorexia nervosa, and we review the details of both disorders.


Corresponding author: Nadia E. Saldanha, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Cohen Children’s Medical Center, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, 410 Lakeville Road, Suite 108, New Hyde Park, NY 11042, USA, Phone: +(516) 465-3270, Fax: +(516) 465-5299, E-mail:

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Received: 2014-4-11
Accepted: 2014-5-13
Published Online: 2014-8-12
Published in Print: 2015-8-1

©2015 by De Gruyter

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