Petracek, Lindsay S, Suskauer, Stacy J, Vickers, Rebecca F et al. · Frontiers in medicine · 2021 · DOI
This study describes three teenagers and young adults who developed ME/CFS after having COVID-19. All three patients experienced symptoms like dizziness when standing up early in their illness, and by 6 months, all met the clinical criteria for ME/CFS. The researchers noticed several patterns across these patients, including allergies, elevated histamine levels, reduced flexibility, and unusual nerve reflexes—findings that may help identify and treat ME/CFS after COVID-19.
This study provides early evidence that COVID-19 can trigger ME/CFS in younger populations and identifies potential biomarkers and comorbid features—such as POTS, allergic phenomena, and neuromuscular abnormalities—that could inform diagnostic pathways and targeted treatments. Understanding these features may help clinicians recognize and manage post-COVID ME/CFS earlier in affected adolescents and young adults.
This case report cannot establish the prevalence or true incidence of ME/CFS following COVID-19, as it describes only three patients. It does not prove that the identified comorbid features (allergies, histamine elevation, neuromuscular findings) are specific to post-COVID ME/CFS or present in all affected individuals. The study cannot determine whether these features are causative or simply associated with the condition.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Petracek, Lindsay S, Suskauer, Stacy J, Vickers, Rebecca F, Patel, Neel R, Violand, Richard L, Swope, Renee L, et al. (2021). Adolescent and Young Adult ME/CFS After Confirmed or Probable COVID-19.. Frontiers in medicine. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.668944
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-petracek-2021-adolescent-young,
author = {Petracek, Lindsay S and Suskauer, Stacy J and Vickers, Rebecca F and Patel, Neel R and Violand, Richard L and Swope, Renee L and Rowe, Peter C},
title = {Adolescent and Young Adult ME/CFS After Confirmed or Probable COVID-19.},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2021.668944},
note = {PubMed: 33996867},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/petracek-2021-adolescent-young},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/petracek-2021-adolescent-young
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