AVOIDANT/RESTRICTIVE FOOD INTAKE DISORDER (ARFID) IN CHILDREN: A CASE REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a recently recognized eating disorder that can lead to severe nutritional and psychosocial complications in children. Its clinical presentation is heterogeneous, and diagnosis remains challenging due to overlap with other pediatric conditions. We report the case of a 10-year-old girl with a severe form of ARFID requiring enteral nutrition, complicated by relapse, but with favorable outcomes under prolonged pediatric, nutritional, and psychological follow-up. This case illustrates the potential severity of ARFID in pediatric populations and emphasizes the need for early detection, multidisciplinary management, and long-term follow-up to reduce the risk of relapse and improve prognosis.