CASE REPORT article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1690213
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Clinical Neuropsychology and Interplay with Mental Health in Several Health ConditionsView all 6 articles
From Behavioral Disorder to Surgical Emergency: A Case of Intussusception Due to Pica in an Adolescent with Depression
Provisionally accepted
Mohammed Abdualrhman Alhaj1*
Mohamed Hassan Ahmed1Tala Jalkhi2Rama Abdualrhman Armouche2
Mira Amer Alrushdi3
Hania Elmaghraby4- 1Sheikh Khalifa medical city Ajman, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
- 2College of Medicine, Ajman University, P.O Box 346, Ajman, UAE, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
- 3Department of psychology, Zayed University,Dubai,UAE, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 4Emirates Health Services, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Background: Pica is a complex behavioral condition with both psychological and biological components, characterized by the persistent ingestion of non-nutritive substances. It often coexists with other mental health conditions, and when left untreated, may lead to life-threatening medical complications. While gastrointestinal obstruction is a known outcome, intussusception caused by pica is extremely rare, particularly in adolescents. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 13-year-old Middle Eastern girl of mixed Emirati Indonesian descent, with a history of emotional distress and familial instability, who presented with persistent abdominal pain and vomiting. Imaging revealed an intussusception caused by foreign bodies extending from the stomach to the duodenum. The patient underwent emergency laparotomy, during which multiple ingested objects were removed, including hair ties, shoelaces, and a thin metal wire. A postoperative psychiatric evaluation led to a diagnosis of pica and major depressive disorder. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was initiated shortly after diagnosis, and the patient demonstrated significant clinical improvement, including cessation of pica behaviors without pharmacological intervention. Conclusion: This case demonstrates the rarity of intussusception as a surgical complication of pica and highlights the importance of early psychiatric assessment and coordinated multidisciplinary care. The patient's recovery was facilitated by timely psychosocial intervention, with marked improvement following the introduction of CBT.
Keywords: Pica, Intussesception, Depression, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), Surgery
Received: 21 Aug 2025; Accepted: 14 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alhaj, Ahmed, Jalkhi, Armouche, Alrushdi and Elmaghraby. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mohammed Abdualrhman Alhaj, mohbest8922@gmail.com
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