Chronic fatigue in general practice: is counselling as good as cognitive behaviour therapy? A UK randomised trial.
BACKGROUND
Fatigue is a common symptom for which patients consult their doctors in primary care. With usual medical management the majority of patients report that their symptoms persist and become chronic. There is little evidence for the effectiveness of any fatigue management in primary care.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) with counselling for patients with chronic fatigue and to describe satisfaction with care.


METHODS
Randomised trial with parallel group design.


METHODS
Ten general practices located in London and the South Thames region of the United Kingdom recruited patients to the trial between 1996 and 1998. Patients came from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and lived in urban, suburban, and rural areas.


METHODS
Data were collected before randomisation, after treatment, and six months later. Patients were offered six sessions of up to one hour each of either CBT or counselling. Outcomes include: self-report of fatigue symptoms six months later, anxiety and depression, symptom attributions, social adjustment and patients' satisfaction with care.


RESULTS
One hundred and sixty patients with chronic fatigue entered the trial, 45 (28%) met research criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome; 129 completed follow-up. All patients met Chalder et al's standard criteria for fatigue. Mean fatigue scores were 23 on entry (at baseline) and 15 at six months' follow-up. Sixty-one (47%) patients no longer met standard criteria for fatigue after six months. There was no significant difference in effect between the two therapies on fatigue (1.04 [95% CI = -1.7 to 3.7]), anxiety and depression or social adjustment outcomes for all patients and for the subgroup with chronic fatigue syndrome. Use of antidepressants and consultations with the doctor decreased after therapy but there were no differences between groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Counselling and CBT were equivalent in effect for patients with chronic fatigue in primary care. The choice between therapies can therefore depend on other considerations, such as cost and accessibility.
Department of General Practice, Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Medicine, King's College, 5 Lambeth Walk, London SE11 6SP. L.Ridsdale@iop.kcl.ac.uk
L
L
Ridsdale
E
E
Godfrey
T
T
Chalder
P
P
Seed
M
M
King
P
P
Wallace
S
S
Wessely
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D004739:England; D005194:Family Practice; D005221:Fatigue / Q000628:therapy*; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016896:Treatment Outcome