In reply: Scroop and Burnet correctly identify the vagaries of the necessarily subjective measurement of outcomes in intervention studies of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Given that muscle strength, endurance and recovery are essentially normal in patients with CFS,1 rather than become too focused on the best approach to measurement of exercise capacity the key issue is whether patients benefit in terms of self-reported symptom severity or functional status.
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- Inflammation Research Unit, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052
Correspondence: alloyd@unsw.edu.au
- 1. Lloyd AR, Gandevia SC, Hales JP. Muscle endurance, twitch properties, voluntary activation and perceived exertion in normal subjects and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Brain 1991; 114: 85-98.
- 2. Royal Australasian College of Physicians Working Group. Chronic fatigue syndrome — Clinical practice guidelines 2002. Med J Aust 2002; 176: S17-S55. <MJA full text>
- 3. Katon W, Russo J. Chronic fatigue syndrome criteria: a critique of the requirement for multiple physical complaints. Arch Intern Med 1992; 152: 1604-1609.
- 4. Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Hickie IB, Wilson AJ, et al. Screening for prolonged fatigue syndromes: validation of the SOFA scale. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2000; 35: 471-479.
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