In an effort to bring more standardization to the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) Fukuda et al. case definition [1], the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed an empirical case definition [2] that specifies crite-ria and instruments to diagnose CFS. The present study investigated the sensitivity and specificity of this CFS em-pirical case definition with diagnosed individuals with CFS from a community based study that were compared to non-CFS cases. All participants completed questionnaires measuring disability (Medical Outcome Survey Short-Form-36) [3], fatigue (the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory) [4], and symptoms (CDC Symptom Inventory) [5]. Findings of the present study indicated sensitivity and specificity problems with the CDC empirical CFS case defi-nition.
KeywordsChronic Fatigue SyndromeEmpirical Case DefinitionCenters for Disease Control and PreventionFukuda Criteria
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