A Case of Trichobezoar in a Child Who Visited with Intermittent Abdominal Pain, Nausea and Vomiting

Bezoars are concretions commonly found in the stomach and small bowel, and four types of bezoars have been described based on their composition : trichobezoar, phytobezoar, lactorbezoar, and miscellaneous. Bezoars most often develop after gastric operations that alter the motility, emptying, and grinding of food in the stomach. Trichobezoars are most common in female children with normal gastrointestinal function and are usually associated with pica, mental retardation, and psychiatric disorders. Although uncommon, bezoars are a well-recognized cause of chronic abdominal complaints which, when undiagnosed, can result in serious complications including gastric ulceration, bleeding, perforation, intussusception and small bowel obstruction. Mortality rates of up to 30 percent have been reported in adults. Trichotillomania is behaviors surrounding hair-pulling, including stroking and playing with hair before pulling, or biting and swallowing the hair after it has been pulled(trichophagia). The most notorious of the medical sequelae of trichotillomania is the trichobezoar. We experienced a case of trichobezoar in an 11-year-old girl who frequently swallowed her hairs from age 4 years up to age 7 years, resulting in intermittent abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.

간헐적 복통과 오심, 구토로 내원한 Trichobezoar 1례

위석은 비교적 흔하지 않은 질환이지만, 진단을 못할 경우 위궤양과 출혈, 장천공, 장중첩증, 장폐쇄, 복막염 등의 심각한 합병증을 동반할 수 있는 만성적 복통의 한 원인이며, 모발석 환아의 대부분은 발모벽과 식모증의 과거력이 있다. 저자들은 내원 4년 전까지 자기 머리카락을 뽑아서 먹는 습관이 있었고, 이후 간헐적 복통과 오심, 구토를 일으킨 11세 여아에서 모발석을 경험하였기에 문헌 고찰과 함께 보고하는 바이다.