Brigden, Amberly, Loades, Maria, Abbott, Anna et al. · Archives of disease in childhood · 2017 · DOI
This article provides practical guidance on how doctors should diagnose and treat ME/CFS in children and teenagers. ME/CFS is a serious condition that affects at least 1 in 100 secondary school students in the UK, causing severe fatigue and limiting daily activities. Although effective treatments exist, many young people with ME/CFS don't get diagnosed or receive help they need.
This guideline is important because ME/CFS in children remains underdiagnosed and undertreated despite affecting a substantial proportion of young people. By summarizing diagnostic criteria and evidence-based management approaches, it aims to improve clinical recognition and access to effective treatment, potentially reducing disability and improving outcomes in pediatric populations.
This guideline does not provide new experimental evidence about disease mechanisms or generate comparative effectiveness data between specific treatments. It does not establish causation of ME/CFS or prove which individual interventions are most effective, as it synthesizes rather than generates primary research data.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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