Phagophobia Successfully Treated With Low-Dose Aripiprazole in an Adolescent: A Case Report.

Phagophobia is a condition characterized by an avoidance of swallowing foods and an intense fear of choking while eating solid foods in the absence of physiological and anatomical abnormalities. Phagophobia is mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition and International Classification of Diseases, 11th Edition in the new diagnostic category of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. The literature concerning phagophobia is sparse, and there is no specific treatment modality for this life-threatening condition. We describe a case of phagophobia in a 15-year-old girl who was treated successfully with low-dose aripiprazole as an augmentation therapy after she witnessed her father choking while eating chicken. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that phagophobia was successfully treated with aripiprazole.