Background: At the cross-roads of feeding and eating disorders, avoidant/restrictive food Intake disorder (ARFID) is sometimes used as an “umbrella diagnosis” as it covers a certainly large and rather heterogeneous list of eating symptoms. It appeared in the DSM5 in 2013, but still, there are no clear guidelines for both diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose: Review and synthetize the latest publications on ARFID as a relatively new and emerging diagnostic category and regarding the current pharmacological management/treatment options.
Subjects and Methods: Between March 2018 and May 2019, a literature search based on electronic bibliographic databases as well as other sources of information (grey literature) was conducted in order to investigate the current ARFID characteristic and treatment modalities, especially regarding medication.
Results: ARFID patients have some identified characteristics that separate them from other patients with other eating disorders. Multiple molecules have been successfully tried in the ARFID management, usually in combination with at least one psycho-dynamic approach and various models of care.
Conclusion: This research offers the opportunity to discuss how to currently diagnose and manage this newly identified condition, and more specifically the different pharmacological molecules that have been helpful for young patients with ARFID.