ME/CFS (SEID) is a serious disease that affects many Americans and impacts their lives in cognitive, emotional, physical, and economic realms. The IOM has described a clear diagnostic algorithm for patients presenting with profound fatigue. There are tools that can be found within the report that help to assess the quality, severity, and frequency of the core symptoms. Further research is needed to determine what causes this SEID, what factors affect its course, and what therapies work for which patients.
References
IOM (Institute of Medicine). Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Redefining an Illness. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2015. http://www.iom.edu/mecfs.
Dr. Skolnik is associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital and professor of family and community medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Baranck Drumond is a chief resident in the family medicine residency program at Abington Memorial Hospital and is going into practice at a Federally Qualified Health Center, The Community Health Center of Cape Cod in Mashpee, Mass.