Reeves criteria

The Reeves criteria were proposed in a 2005 article in BMC Medicine. It is sometimes referred to as the Empirical definition.

Authors

William Reeves, Dieter Wagner, Rosane Nisenbaum, James Jones, Brian Gurbaxani, Laura Solomon, Dimitris Papanicolaou, Elizabeth Unger, Suzanne Vernon and Christine Heim

Definition

• Having greater than or equal to 4 symptoms set forth in the 1994 Fukuda criteria.

• Severe fatigue as determined using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI): score of greater than or equal to 13 on the general fatigue subscale or greater than or equal to 10 on the reduced activity subscale.

• Functional impairment as determined using the Short-Form 36 (SF-36): score of less than or equal to 70 physical function subscale, or less than or equal to 50 on role physical subscale, or less than or equal to 75 on social function subscale, or less than or equal to 66.7 on emotional subscale.

• Symptom validity as determined using the Centers for Disease Control Symptom Inventory: score of greater than or equal to 25 on the Symptom Inventory Case Definition subscale.

Criticism

• There is no post-exertional malaise (PEM) required for diagnosis, which sets it apart from Canadian Consensus Criteria, International Consensus Criteria, and Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease criteria (IOM Criteria).

• Letter by Tom Kindlon criticising the criteria, "Criteria used to define chronic fatigue syndrome questioned", that was published in Psychosomatic Medicine

• One research study found 38% of those with a diagnosis of a Major depressive disorder were misclassified as having CFS using the empirical/Reeves definition.

• Blog Slightly Alive by Mary Schweitzer, "CDC Research on CFS: Open Deception"

Petition

Petition with over 2600 signatures (as of February 2016) against the criteria.

Publications

• 2009, Evaluating the Centers for Disease Control's Empirical Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Case Definition (Full Text)

Short Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) - A 36-item patient-reported questionnaire, used to determine patient health status and quality of life.

See Short Form 36-Item Health Survey.

post-exertional malaise (PEM) - A notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small physical or cognitive exertions. PEM may be referred to as a "crash" or "collapse" and can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain, trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, and others.

See post-exertional malaise.

National Academy of Medicine (NAM) - An American non-profit, non-governmental organization which provides expert advice to governmental agencies on issues relating to biomedical science, medicine and health. Formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

See National Academy of Medicine.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a U.S. government agency dedicated to epidemiology and public health. It operates under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.

See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.