AHRQ report - Diagnosis and Treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Diagnosis and Treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a division of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2014, with a July 2016 Addendum.

Investigators

• Prepared by: Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center, Portland, OR
• Investigators: M E Beth Smith, DO, Heidi D Nelson, MD, MPH, Elizabeth Haney, MD, Miranda Pappas, MA, Monica Daeges, BA, Ngoc Wasson, MPH, and Marian McDonagh, PharmD.

Contents

• July 2016 Addendum
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Key Informants
• Technical Expert Panel
• Peer Reviewers: Todd Davenport, Derek Enlander, Maureen Hanson, Alan Light, and Rosemary Underhill
• Executive Summary
• Introduction, Background, and Scope of Review and Key Questions
• Methods, including Topic Development and Refinement, Literature Search Strategy, Process for Study Selection, Data Extraction and Data Management, Individual Study Quality Assessment, Assessing Research Applicability, Data Synthesis, Grading the Body of Evidence for Each Key Question, Peer Review and Public Commentary
• Results, including Results of Literature Searches, Description of Included Studies, Key Question 1 - What methods are available to clinicians to diagnose ME/CFS, and what conditions are required to be ruled out or excluded before assigning a diagnosis of ME/CFS?, Key Question 1a - What are the accuracy and concordance of methods used to diagnose ME/CFS?, Key Question 1b - How does the use of these methods vary by patient subgroups?, Key Question 1c - What harms are associated with diagnosing ME/CFS?, Key Question 2 - What are the (a) benefits and (b) harms of therapeutic interventions for patients with ME/CFS, and how do they vary by patient subgroups?, and Key Question 2c - What are the characteristics of responders and nonresponders to interventions?
• Discussion, including Key Findings, Strength of Evidence, Findings in Relationship to What Is Already Known, Applicability, Limitations of the Evidence Base, Future Research and Implications for the Pathways to Prevention Workshop, and Conclusions
• References
• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Appendix A Search Strategies
• Appendix B Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
• Appendix C List of Included Studies
• Appendix D List of Excluded Studies
• Appendix E Quality Rating Criteria
• Appendix F Strength of Evidence Criteria
• Appendix G Data Abstraction Tables
• Appendix H Quality Assessment Tables
• Appendix I Published Case Definition Criteria
• Appendix J Standardized Measures Tables
• Appendix K Strength of Evidence