Dolphin
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21641846.2024.2314409
Research Article
Can a consensus occur on a research case definition for ME/CFS?
Leonard A. Jason,
Suvetha Ravichandran
&
Aiden Rathmann
Received 05 Dec 2023, Accepted 11 Jan 2024, Published online: 13 Feb 2024
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Many controversies have emerged around developing a consensus on a research case definition for ME and ME/CFS. To determine if there might be a consensus among patients, healthcare workers, and researchers, a brief questionnaire was distributed to an international group of patients to assess key issues involving ME and ME/CFS case definitions.
Method: Respondents were asked questions about core symptoms and other critical case definition issues.
Results: Overall, post-exertional malaise, cognitive impairment, fatigue, and unrefreshing sleep were the most endorsed core symptoms with at least 80% consensus among participants. Considerable support occurred for the ME-ICC (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis-International Consensus Criteria) and the Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC), whereas the Fukuda Criteria received the least support. Items rated as important for a research case definition included the severity of the illness, onset type, duration of illness, illness course, exclusions, and comorbidities.
Conclusions: The implications of these findings for developing a consensus on research case definition criteria are discussed.
KEYWORDS:
Research Article
Can a consensus occur on a research case definition for ME/CFS?
Leonard A. Jason,
Suvetha Ravichandran
&
Aiden Rathmann
Received 05 Dec 2023, Accepted 11 Jan 2024, Published online: 13 Feb 2024
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Many controversies have emerged around developing a consensus on a research case definition for ME and ME/CFS. To determine if there might be a consensus among patients, healthcare workers, and researchers, a brief questionnaire was distributed to an international group of patients to assess key issues involving ME and ME/CFS case definitions.
Method: Respondents were asked questions about core symptoms and other critical case definition issues.
Results: Overall, post-exertional malaise, cognitive impairment, fatigue, and unrefreshing sleep were the most endorsed core symptoms with at least 80% consensus among participants. Considerable support occurred for the ME-ICC (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis-International Consensus Criteria) and the Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC), whereas the Fukuda Criteria received the least support. Items rated as important for a research case definition included the severity of the illness, onset type, duration of illness, illness course, exclusions, and comorbidities.
Conclusions: The implications of these findings for developing a consensus on research case definition criteria are discussed.
KEYWORDS:
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