Abstract
Geophagia (dirt-eating), a special form of pica, is a common phenomenon and may cause anemia in children. A review of the literature concerning this problem is briefly reported. 60 cases of geophagia with anemia, ranging in age from 11 1/2 months to 4 10/12 years, have been studied. The clinical and laboratory data and the treatment of this group are presented. The evidence presented would indicate that extensive dirt-eating is a cause of anemia in childhood.
Copyright and license
Copyright © 1961 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.