ABSTRACT
An 11-month-old male child with a complex past medical history presented for admission due to failure to thrive. He had hair loss throughout his scalp, and his abdomen was distended. There was parental report of hair pulling and hair in his stool. An upper gastrointestinal (GI) radiograph with fluoroscopy was performed and showed a filling defect in the gastric lumen. On endoscopy, he was found to have a gastric bezoar consisting of hair, nail, and food material. The trichobezoar was removed, and he began to tolerate feeds and showed consistent weight gain. There were no recurrence of symptoms 8 months following removal. While inadequate caloric intake is a common reason for failure to thrive, mechanical obstruction from a trichobezoar as a cause is rare and to our knowledge has not been reported in a child this young.
Subject(s)
Brain Diseases/etiology , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/complications , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/diagnosis , Fever/etiology , Hypertension, Malignant/etiology , Brain Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Child, Preschool , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/therapy , Female , Fever/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Hypertension, Malignant/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
Children with complex medical needs account for a high percentage of healthcare utilization and it is crucial that healthcare trainees get adequate exposure to this population. Camps dedicated to serving children with medical conditions often accept medical trainees from various disciplines, but little is known about how these camps compare to more traditional clinical experiences. We surveyed 37 learners from various healthcare disciplines at one medical camp. Participants reported that learning conditions at the camp were similar or superior to their other clinical experiences in all aspects questioned, suggesting medical camp is perceived as a positive non-traditional clinical learning environment.
