Lack Of Known Cause, Basic Knowledge Pose Barrier To Diagnosis.(Brief Article)

2001 DEC 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Thirteen years after a group of scientists coined the term chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) to describe a mysterious medical condition, many medical professionals are acknowledging it as a seriously disabling condition in need of treatment, concluded a survey released November 15, 2001, by the Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Association of America.

Three-quarters of medical professionals responding to the survey believe that CFS, also known as CFIDS, is as or more disabling than other chronic diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, or rheumatoid arthritis. But despite the severe nature of the illness, diagnosis remains problematic.

Half of the survey respondents cited the lack of a proven diagnostic test to be the greatest barrier to accurately identifying CFS. Thirty-five percent feel lack of a known cause of the illness is a barrier to diagnosis, and 31% feel there is not enough basic knowledge about CFS among the medical community.

Currently, health care practitioners are using a number of different methods to diagnose CFS. Almost three-quarters (72%) rely on exclusion of other common causes for symptoms; 68% use a patient history; and 25% use laboratory tests. Practitioners also rely on documenting the presence of symptoms other than fatigue. When respondents were asked what one symptom other than fatigue made them more likely to suspect CFS, or without which they would not make a diagnosis, the most common answer was postexertional malaise (incapacitating fatigue lasting more than 24 hours after physical or mental exertion).

Lack of basic knowledge among practitioners and the absence of a diagnostic test means that more research and awareness of CFS is ...