Cajanding, Ruff Jm · British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing) · 2017 · DOI
Fatigue is one of the most distressing symptoms experienced by patients in intensive care units (ICUs), and it often continues long after patients leave the hospital. This article discusses what causes fatigue in critically ill patients, how doctors and nurses can better recognize and assess it, and what treatments might help. The authors emphasize that nurses play an important role in identifying patients at risk and managing their fatigue.
This work is relevant to ME/CFS research because it documents the persistent, disabling nature of fatigue acquired during critical illness and the lack of adequate clinical assessment tools—issues paralleling ME/CFS pathology. Understanding how fatigue manifests and persists in ICU survivors may inform mechanistic insights and management strategies applicable to post-viral fatigue conditions like ME/CFS.
This editorial does not present original research data or establish causal mechanisms of fatigue in critically ill patients. It does not differentiate between fatigue from acute critical illness versus post-infectious conditions like ME/CFS, nor does it provide evidence comparing treatment efficacy across different fatigue etiologies.
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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