Swollen lymph nodes

Swollen, painful, and/or tender lymph nodes are a common occurrence in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), especially with the cervical (neck) and axillary (armpits) lymph nodes.

Prevalence

 * In a 2001 Belgian study, 57.7% of patients meeting the Fukuda criteria and 67.9% of patients meeting the Holmes criteria, in a cohort of 2073 CFS patients, reported swollen/tender lymph nodes.


 * Katrina Berne, PhD, reports a prevalence of 50-80% for painful and/or swollen lymph nodes.

Symptom recognition

 * In the Canadian Consensus Criteria, tender lymph nodes are an optional criteria for diagnosis, under the section Immune Manifestations.
 * In the Fukuda criteria, the symptom of tender lymph nodes can be used to help form a diagnosis.
 * In the Holmes criteria, painful lymph nodes in the anterior or posterior cervical or axillary distribution is an optional criteria for diagnosis, under the section Minor Symptom Criteria. It also appears as an optional criteria for diagnosis under the section Minor Physical Criteria as palpable or tender anterior or posterior cervical or axillary lymph nodes that have been documented by a physician on at least two occasions, at least one month apart.