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Clinical guidance for ME/CFS may also help Long COVID patients

Updated clinical guidance for myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome (ME​/​CFS), produced by the US ME​/​CFS Clinician Coalition, may also help patients who remain ill with Long COVID after even mild cases of COVID-19. An article about the update has been published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings:

Read it here

Recent research suggests 10 percent or more of adults with acute COVID-19 may go on to develop ME​/​CFS. Patients with ME​/​CFS have long struggled to access clinical care as a result of a lack of accurate clinical guidance and provider knowledge. The significant influx of new ME​/​CFS cases has created an urgent need for clinicians everywhere to learn about this disease.

The updated clinical guidance from the US ME​/​CFS Clinician Coalition focuses on adults and includes:

  • New diagnostic criteria requiring post-exertional malaise and other key features to improve diagnostic accuracy
  • Efficient use of interview questions, physical examination findings, and diagnostic testing
  • Alternative diagnoses and co-existing conditions to consider
  • Pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments
  • A discussion of why previously-recommended treatments — cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise therapy — can be harmful and are no longer recommended

There are no FDA-approved treatments for ME​/​CFS. However, authors of the article state that, in their experience, improvement is possible with appropriate care, and  provide their consensus recommendations with a variety of available treatments.

Author Dr. Lucinda Bateman notes:

“There are many steps clinicians can take now to improve the health, function, and quality of life of people with ME​/​CFS, including those newly ill with ME​/​CFS following COVID-19. This guidance may also help Long COVID patients, even if they do not fully meet criteria for ME​/​CFS.”

Watch the accompanying video by Dr. Lucinda Bateman:

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