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Annals of Internal Medicine. 1988;108:387-389.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Working Case Definition
GARY P. HOLMES, M.D.; JONATHAN E. KAPLAN, M.D.; NELSON
M. GANTZ, M.D.; ANTHONY L. KOMAROFF, M.D.; LAWRENCE B.
SCHONBERGER, M.D.; STEPHEN E. STRAUS, M.D.; JAMES F.
JONES, M.D.; RICHARD E. DUBOIS, M.D.; CHARLOTTE
CUNNINGHAM-RUNDLES, M.D.; SAVITA PAHWA, M.D.; GIOVANNA
TOSATO, M.D.; LEONARD S. ZEGAS, M.D.; DAVID T. PURTILO,
M.D.; NATHANIEL BROWN, M.D.; ROBERT T. SCHOOLEY, M.D.;
IRENA BRUS, M.D.; Atlanta, Georgia; Worcester and
Boston, Massachusetts; Bethesda, Maryland; Denver,
Colorado; New York and Manhasset, New York; San
Francisco, California; and Omaha, Nebraska
From the Division of Viral Diseases, Centers for
Disease Control, Atlanta, Geogia; Department of
Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School,
Worcester, Massachusetts; Department of Medicine,
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts;
Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National
Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of
Pediatrics, National Jewish Center for Immunology and
Respiratory Medicine, Denver, Colorado; Atlanta Medical
Associates, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Medicine,
Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York;
Department of Pediatrics, North Shore University
Hospital, Manhasset, New York; Division of Biochemistry
and Biophysics, Food and Drug Adminstration, Bethesda,
Maryland; Department of Psychiatry, University of San
Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco,
California; Department of Pathology and Microbiology,
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska;
Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Boston, Massachusetts; and Department of Medicine, Beth
Israel Medical Center, New York, New York.
THE CHRONIC EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS SYNDROME IS A POORLY DEFINED
SYMPTOM COMPLEX CHARACTERIZED PRIMARILY BY CHRONIC OR RECURRENT
DEBILITATING FATIGUE AND VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF OTHER SYMPTOMS,
INCLUDING SORE THROAT, LYMPH NODE PAIN AND TENDERNESS, HEADACHE,
MYALGIA AND ARTHRALGIAS. ALTHOUGH THE SYNDROME HAS RECEIVED
RECENT ATTENTION, AND HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED IN MANY PATIENTS, THE
CHRONIC EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS SYNDROME HAS NOT BEEN DEFINED
CONSISTENTLY. DESPITE THE NAME OF THE SYNDROME, BOTH THE
DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS SEROLOGIC TESTS AND THE
PROPOSED CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION
AND PATIENTS WHO HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH THE CHRONIC EPSTEIN-BARR
VIRUS SYNDROME REMAIN DOUBTFUL. WE PROPOSE A NEW NAME FOR THE
CHRONIC EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS SYNDROME -- THE CHRONIC FATIGUE
SYNDROME -- THAT MORE ACCURATELY DESCRIBES THIS SYMPTOM COMPLEX AS
A SYNDROME OF UNKNOWN CAUSE CHARACTERIZED PRIMARILY BY CHRONIC
FATIGUE. WE ALSO PRESENT A WORKING DEFINITION FOR THE CHRONIC
FATIGUE SYNDROME DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE COMPARABILITY AND
REPRODUCIBILITY OF CLINICAL RESEARCH AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES,
AND TO PROVIDE A RATIONAL BASIS FOR EVALUATING PATIENTS WHO HAVE
CHRONIC FATIGUE OF UNDETERMINED CAUSE.
[MeSH Terms: axilla; chronic disease; depression; Epstein-Barr
virus; fatigue; fever; lymph nodes; memory disorders; neck;
pharyngitis. Other indexing terms: chronic Epstein-Barr virus
syndrome; chronic fatigue syndrome; sore throat]
The chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome, also known as chronic
mononucleosis or chronic mononucleosis-like syndrome, is a syndrome
of unknown cause that has been the subject of interest in both
medical and popular literature, particularly since 1985. As it was
described (1-4) in four groups of patients, the syndrome consists
of a combination of nonspecific symptoms -- severe fatigue,
weakness, malaise, subjective fever, sore throat, painful lymph
nodes, decreased memory, confusion, depression, decreased ability
to concentrate on tasks, and various other complaints -- with a
remarkable absence of objective physical laboratory abnormalities.
The syndrome was linked in these and other reports to Epstein-Barr
virus, because many, but not all, of the patients had Epstein-Barr
virus antibody profiles that suggested reactivation of latent
infection.
Reference laboratories soon began to advertise Epstein-Barr
virus serologic tests for use in the diagnosis of the chronic
Epstein-Barr virus syndrome (5). Although reliable data are not
available, indications are that the syndrome has been diagnosed
commonly by physicians, often on the basis of poorly defined
diagnostic criteria. Since late 1985, the Division of Viral
Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, has responded to several
thousand telephone and mail requests for information about the
chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome, both from physicians and from
patients in whom the syndrome has been diagnosed. Judging from the
inquiries received, many physicians appear to have based their
diagnoses on little more than the presence of detectable serum
Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers.
More recent studies (6,7) have cast doubt on the diagnostic
value of positive Epstein-Barr virus serologic results and on the
proposed relationship between Epstein-Barr virus infection and
patients who have been diagnosed with the chronic Epstein-Barr
virus syndrome. Although some statistically significant
associations between positive Epstein-Barr virus serologic tests
and illnesses diagnosed as the chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome
were identified in one study using age-, sex-, and race -matched
controls (6), the serologic associations between the syndrome and
cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex types 1 and 2, and measles virus
were as strong as or stronger than the association with
Epstein-Barr virus. Epstein-Barr virus serologic results in this
study were also found to be poorly reproducible, both within and
among laboratories, leading to the conclusion that the results of
these tests are to directly comparable unless they have been done
in parallel.
With the apparent lack of correlation between serum
Epstein-Barr virus titers and the presence of chronic fatigue
symptoms, it is premature to focus research and diagnostic efforts
on Epstein-Barr virus alone. Many public health officials and
clinicians are concerned that a diagnosis of the chronic
Epstein-Barr virus syndrome may not be appropriate for persons with
chronic fatigue who have positive Epstein-Barr virus serologic
tests, and that definable occult diseases may actually be the cause
of symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and fever. It is also
inappropriate to use a name for the syndrome that implies a
specific causal agent. We, therefore, propose a new name -- the
chronic fatigue syndrome -- that describes the most striking
clinical characteristic of the chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome
without implying a causal relationship with Epstein-Barr virus.
Because of the nonspecific nature of the symptoms and the lack
of a diagnostic test, researchers have had difficulty devising a
case definition for the chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome. When
definitions have been described, they have differed greatly among
the various published studies, making direct comparison of the
study results difficult. We have organized an informal working
group of public health epidemiologists, academic researchers, and
clinicians, to develop a consensus on the salient clinical
characteristics of the chronic Epstein-Barr virus syndrome and to
devise a definition for the chronic fatigue syndrome that will be
the basis for conducting future epidemiologic and clinical studies.
Because the syndrome has no diagnostic test, the definition at
present is based on signs and symptoms only. This definition is
intentionally restrictive, to maximize the chances that research
studies will detect significant associations is such associations
truly exist. It identifies persons whose illnesses are most
compatible with a possibly unique clinical entity; persons who may
have less severe forms of the syndrome or who have less
characteristic clinical features may be excluded by the new
definition.
The chronic fatigue syndrome is currently an operational concept
designed for research purposes that physicians must recognize not
necessarily as a single disease but as a syndrome -- a complex of
potentially related symptoms that tend to occur together -- that may
have several causes. Periodic reconsideration of conditions such
as those listed under major criteria, part 2, should be standard
practice in the long-term follow-up of these patients.
Case Definition for The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
A case of the chronic fatigue syndrome must fulfill major
criteria 1 and 2, and the following minor criteria: 6 or more of
the 11 symptom criteria and 2 or more of the 3 physical criteria;
or 8 or more of the 11 symptom criteria.
Major Criteria
1. New onset of persistent or relapsing, debilitating fatigue or
easy fatigability in a person who has no previous history of
similar symptoms, that does not resolve with bedrest, and that is
severe enough to reduce or impair average daily activity below 50%
of the patient's premorbid activity level for a period of at least
6 months.
2. Other clinical conditions that may produce similar symptoms
must be excluded by thorough evaluation, based on history, physical
examination, and appropriate laboratory findings. These conditions
include malignancy; autoimmune disease; localized infection (such
as occult abscess); chronic or subacute bacterial disease (such as
endocarditis, Lyme disease, or tuberculosis), fungal disease (such
as histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, or coccidioidomycosis), and
parasitic disease (such as toxoplasmosis, amebiasis, giardiasis, or
helminthic infestation); disease related to human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) infection; chronic psychiatric disease, either newly
diagnosed or by history (such as endogenous depression; hysterical
personality disorder; anxiety neurosis; schizophrenia; or chronic
use of major tranquilizers, lithium, or antidepressive
medications); chronic inflammatory disease (such as sarcoidosis,
Wegener granulomatosis, or chronic hepatitis); neuromuscular
disease (such as multiple sclerosis or myathenia gravis); endocrine
disease (such as hypothyroidism, Addison disease, Cushing syndrome,
or diabetes mellitus); drug dependency or abuse (such as alcohol,
controlled prescription drugs, or illicit drugs); side effects of a
chronic medication or other toxic agent (such as a chemical
solvent, pesticide or heavy metal); or other known or defined
chronic pulmonary, cardiac, gastrointestinal, hepatic, renal, or
hematologic disease.
Specific laboratory tests or clinical measurements are not
required to satisfy the definition of the chronic fatigue syndrome,
but the recommended evaluation includes serial weight measurements
(weight change of more than 10% in the absence of dieting suggests
other diagnoses); serial morning and afternoon temperature
measurements; complete blood count and differential; serum
electrolytes; glucose; creatine, blood urea nitrogen; calcium,
phosphorus; total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, serum aspartate
aminotransferase, serum alanine aminotransferase; creatine
phosphokinase or aldolase; urinalysis; posteroanterior and lateral
chest roentgenograms; detailed personal and family psychiatric
history; erythrocyte sedimentation rate; antinuclear antibody;
thyroid-stimulating hormone level; HIV antibody measurement; and
intermediate-strength purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test
with controls.
If any of the results from these tests are abnormal, the
physician should search for other conditions that may cause such a
result. If no such conditions are detected by a reasonable
revaluation, this criterion is satisfied.
Minor Criteria
Symptom Criteria
To fulfill a symptom criteria, a symptom must have begun at or
after the time of onset of increased fatigability, and must have
persisted or recurred over a period of at least 6 months
(individual symptoms may or may not have occurred simultaneously).
Symptoms include:
1. Mild fever -- oral temperature between 37.5 degrees C and 38.6
degrees C, if measured by the patient -- or chills. (Note: oral
temperatures of greater than 38.6 degrees C are less compatible
with chronic fatigue syndrome and should prompt studies for other
causes of illness.)
2. Sore throat.
3. Painful lymph nodes in the anterior or posterior cervical or
axillary distribution.
4.Unexplained generalized muscle weakness.
5. Muscle discomfort or myalgia.
6. Prolonged (24 hours or greater) generalized fatigue after
levels of exercise that would have been easily tolerated in the
patient's premorbid state.
7. Generalized headaches (of a type, severity, or pattern that is
different from headaches the patient may have had in the premorbid
state.)
8. Migratory arthralgia without joint swelling or redness.
9. Neuropsychologic complaints (one or more of the following :
photophobia, transient visual scotomata, forgetfulness, excessive
irritability, confusion, difficulty thinking, inability to
concentrate, depression).
10. Sleep disturbance (hypersomnia or insomnia).
11. Description of the main symptom complex as initially
developing over a few hours to a few days (this is not a true
symptom, but may be considered as equivalent to the above symptoms
in meeting the requirements of the case definition).
Physical criteria
Physical criteria must be documented by a physician on at least two
occasions, at least 1 month apart.
1. Low-grade fever -- oral temperature between 37.6 degrees C and
38.6 degrees C, or rectal temperature between 37.8 degrees C and
38.8 degrees C. (See note under Symptom Criterion 1.)
2. Nonexudative pharyngitis.
3. Palpable or tender anterior or posterior cervical or axillary
lymph nodes. (Note: lymph nodes greater than 2 cm in diameter
suggest other causes. Further evaluation is warranted.)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The authors thank Mrs.Josephine Lister for
manuscript preparation.
Requests for reprints should be addressed to Gary P.Holmes, M.D.;
Division of Viral Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers
for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA, 30333.
References:
1. TOBI M, MORAG A, RAVID Z, et al. Prolonged atypical illness
associated with serological evidence of persistent Epstein-Barr
virus infection. LANCET. 1982;1:61-4
2. DUBOIS RE, SEELEY JK, BRUS I, et al. Chronic mononucleosis syndrome.
South Med J. 1984;77:1376-82.
3. JONES JF, RAY CG, MINNICH LL, et al. Evidence for active
Epstein-Barr virus infection in patients with persistent,
unexplained illnesses: elevated anti-early antigen anti-bodies;
Ann Intern Med. 1985;102:1-7
4. STRAUS SE, TOBATO G, ARMSTRONG G, et al. Persisting illness and
fatigue in adults with evidence of Epstein-Barr virus infection.
Ann Intern Med. 1985;102:7-16
5. MERLIN TL. Chronic Mononucleosis: pitfalls in the laboratory
diagnosis. Hum Pathol. 1986;17:2-8.
6. HOLMES GP, KAPLAN JE, STEWART JA, HUNT B, PINSKTY PF, SCHONBERGER
LB. A cluster of patients with a chronic mononucleosis-like
syndrome: is Epstein-Barr virus the cause? JAMA. 1987;257:2297-2302.
7. BUCHWALD D, SULLIVAN JL, KOMAROFF AL. Frequency of "chronic active
Epstein-Barr virus infection" in a general medical practice. JAMA.
1987;257:2303-7.