Tag: assessment

Expert assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

The Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome (CFS) has been first described in 1988 and has been also in Germany recently more frequently diagnosed. It is similar to a lot of other terms, especially to “neurasthenia”, which has been introduced 1869 from Beard and is now again content of ICD-10. CFS is defined by primary and secondary criteria, which are however largely subjective. There are no objective signs. It is unknown if this syndrome represents a disease entity of its own. The explanation is either exclusive organic based on immunological and virological findings or exclusive psychogenic as a special form of anxiety psychosis. Possibly are both factors involved as part of “psycho-neuro-immunology”. CFS is increased subject of medical certification. It has been tried to give a practical guidance to the assessment of CFS.

 

Source: Hausotter W. Expert assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome. Versicherungsmedizin. 1996 Apr 1;48(2):57-9. [Article in German] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8659055

 

An assessment of cognitive function and mood in chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

Data were gathered regarding the associates of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) with: (1) speed of cognitive processing, (2) motor speed, (3) ability to sustain attention, and (4) mood. Patients were given a brief neuropsychological test battery before and after double-blind treatment with terfenadine or placebo and completed a daily mood rating scale (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) during the study.

CFS patients exhibited slower cognitive processing and motor speed and lower positive affect, as compared to data reported from previous studies of healthy subjects and other patient groups; however, CFS patients did not exhibit deficits in sustained attention in comparison to other groups.

The CFS patients’ ability to attend to verbal versus figural stimuli and mood ratings were different from those reported in studies of patients with depression. Because of methodological limitations, these findings are preliminary, but they encourage further assessment of cognitive dysfunction and mood in CFS.

 

Source: Marshall PS, Watson D, Steinberg P, Cornblatt B, Peterson PK, Callies A, Schenck CH. An assessment of cognitive function and mood in chronic fatigue syndrome. Biol Psychiatry. 1996 Feb 1;39(3):199-206. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8837981

 

Assessing somatization disorder in the chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

This study was conducted to examine the rates of somatization disorder (SD) in the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) relative to other fatiguing illness groups. It further addressed the arbitrary nature of the judgments made in assigning psychiatric vs. physical etiology to symptoms in controversial illnesses such as CFS.

Patients with CFS (N = 42), multiple sclerosis (MS) (N = 18), and depression (N = 21) were compared with healthy individuals (N = 32) on a structured psychiatric interview. The SD section of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) III-R was reanalyzed using different criteria sets to diagnose SD. All subjects received a thorough medical history, physical examination, and DIS interview. CFS patients received diagnostic laboratory testing to rule out other causes of fatigue.

This study revealed that changing the attribution of SD symptoms from psychiatric to physical dramatically affected the rates of diagnosing SD in the CFS group. Both the CFS and depressed subjects endorsed a higher percentage of SD symptoms than either the MS or healthy groups, but very few met the strict DSM-III-R criteria for SD. The present study illustrates that the terminology used to interpret the symptoms (ie, psychiatric or physical) will determine which category CFS falls into. The diagnosis of SD is of limited use in populations in which the etiology of the illness has not been established.

 

Source: Johnson SK, DeLuca J, Natelson BH. Assessing somatization disorder in the chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychosom Med. 1996 Jan-Feb;58(1):50-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8677289

 

Dimensional assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

The absence of laboratory tests and clear criteria to identify homogeneous (sub)groups in patients presenting with unexplained fatigue, and to assess clinical status and disability in these patients, calls for further assessment methods. In the present study, a multi-dimensional approach to the assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is evaluated.

Two-hundred and ninety-eight patients with CFS completed a set of postal questionnaires that assessed the behavioural, emotional, social, and cognitive aspects of CFS. By means of statistical analyses nine relatively independent dimensions of CFS were identified along which CFS-assessment and CFS-research can be directed.

These dimensions were named: psychological well-being, functional impairment in daily life, sleep disturbances, avoidance of physical activity, neuropsychological impairment, causal attributions related to the complaints, social functioning, self-efficacy expectations, and subjective experience of the personal situation. A description of the study sample on these dimensions is presented.

 

Source: Vercoulen JH, Swanink CM, Fennis JF, Galama JM, van der Meer JW, Bleijenberg G. Dimensional assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome. J Psychosom Res. 1994 Jul;38(5):383-92. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7965927