title: Chronic fatigue syndrome: issues in the diagnosis and estimation of incidence.
abstract: This article critiques the current working definition of chronic fatigue syndrome. The concerns raised about the current working definition are the following: prolonged or excessive exertion is not addressed explicitly; duration and quality of bed rest are not specified; a socioeconomic ascertainment bias is present; data from history and physical findings are not clearly separated and are relegated to minor criteria; and the rigor of neurologic and psychiatric evaluations is not specified. We propose a flow chart that addresses the possible modes of evolution of chronic fatigue syndrome for patients; this chart may yield more homogeneous subgroups of individuals with this syndrome or enable some patients to avert the syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Armon
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Kurland
mesh_terms: D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000150:complications