The treatment of adolescents with bulimia nervosa

Background: Bulimia nervosa appears to be quite common among adolescents and poses high rates of psychiatric and medical morbidity. Yet, no published accounts of treatment for this population are available. Aims: To briefly describe the clinical presentation of bulimia nervosa in adolescents and review the available information regarding psychological and pharmacological treatments from the adult literature. Method: A narrative review of the available literature. Results: Relatively little information about the treatment of adolescents with bulimia nervosa are available. Family-based treatments as well as cognitive behavioural guided self-help are both promising interventions. Except for one small open trial of fluoxetine, pharmacotherapy remains entirely unexplored. Conclusion: Most of what is known regarding the treatment of adolescents with bulimia nervosa is based on the adult literature, which does not specifically allude to the applicability of these data for adolescent populations. While we await the publication of two current randomized controlled trials, much more work is needed to establish the best treatments for adolescent bulimia nervosa. Declaration of interest: DLG was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, USA (MH01923). The adolescent bulimia nervosa study was supported by the Health Foundation, UK. Conflict of interests: None.