Pica behaviors in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this review is to explore existing literature regarding pica in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease and to identify associated interventions and outcomes.

Introduction: Pica is a psychological eating disorder that is characterized by the consumption of items that contain no nutritional value. The ingestion of non-food items causes complications that can be harmful or even fatal. Approximately one-third of patients with sickle cell disease will also develop pica behaviors.

Inclusion Criteria: This review will consider studies that include pediatric patients from 18 months to 18 years of age who have been diagnosed with any type of sickle cell disease and have a history of pica. The study will examine interventions used in any setting to treat pediatric patients with sickle cell disease and pica and associated outcomes. Any study type will be considered for inclusion.

Methods: Databases to be searched will include CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase (Elsevier), Europe PubMed Central (PubMed), Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO), and Scopus (Elsevier). Data will be extracted from included papers by two independent reviewers. The data extracted will include details about the populations, concept, context, and study methods of significance to the review questions and objective. The extracted data will be presented in diagrammatic or tabular form in a manner that aligns to the objectives and scope of this review.