The Cape Town Consensus Statement on obsessive-compulsive disorder

The Cape Town Consensus Statement provides an up-to-date summary of the literature and clinical recommendations for healthcare professionals with regard to the currently available scientific data relating to the symptomatology, diagnosis, neurobiology and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This review outlines some of these issues covered by the Consensus Statement. Current differing classifications of OCD do not take the same approach to conceptualizing this condition. There is biological and clinical evidence to suggest that OCD should be classified separately from anxiety disorders and the next revision of current nosology may be more consistent with our understanding of the psychobiology of OCD. Indeed, the psychobiological basis of some OCD subtypes such as early-onset OCD, and OCD spectrum disorders such as Tourette's syndrome, is increasingly understood. Serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are the treatments of choice for children and adults with OCD and several OCD spectrum disorders, although gaps in our knowledge regarding treatment remain.