A US-Based Consensus on Diagnostic Overlap and Distinction for Pediatric Feeding Disorder and Avoidant/Restrictive...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric gastroenterology
• Child psychology
• Clinical nutrition

Background:

• Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) are pediatric diagnoses with overlapping criteria.
• Nutritional consequences and psychosocial impairment are common to both ARFID and PFD.
• Lack of guidance complicates differentiating ARFID and PFD, and understanding their co-occurrence or transition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To achieve diagnostic clarity between ARFID and PFD.
• To establish consensus on the differential diagnosis of ARFID and PFD.
• To address the overlap in diagnostic criteria for ARFID and PFD.

Main Methods:

• A consensus meeting was organized by Feeding Matters' Research Initiatives Task Force.
• Participants included authors of ARFID and PFD papers, and community representatives.
• The consensus process involved pre-work, a meeting, and post-work/writing over three stages.

Main Results:

• A panel of 12 participants, including psychologists and multidisciplinary experts, contributed to the consensus.
• Ten consensus statements were generated to support diagnostic clarity.
• Visual aids were developed to accompany the consensus statements.

Conclusions:

• The consensus process highlights the need for improved diagnostic systems for ARFID and PFD.
• Strengthening healthcare expertise in ARFID and PFD is crucial.
• Community-based participatory research is recommended to advance these diagnoses and reduce ambiguity.