Evidence-based treatment guidelines for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The development of federal guidelines is a time and labor-intensive process. The CDC ME/CFS program has been advised by CDC's Office of the Associate Director for Science (OADS) that the process typically takes 3-5 years. OADS has recommended use of existing systematic literature reviews as a strategy that can help expedite the development of federal guidelines.

An existing systematic literature review, entitled "Diagnosis and Treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" (available at: https://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/evidence-based-reports/er219-abstract.html),
will be leveraged to serve as the foundation for ME/CFS treatment guidelines development. No other comparable and recent literature review has been published.

Commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and part of its Evidence Review/Technology Assessment series, the literature review was originally published in 2014 and was updated in 2016. The initial report provided a literature review for the National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Workshop on Advancing the Research on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Both the initial review and the update were completed by the Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC).

The CDC has a requirement for updating ME/CFS treatment guidelines with recent literature and supplementing the prior review and guidelines that were recommended by the HHS CFS Advisory Committee in June, 2017. In addition, any peer-reviewed literature that could provide context to inform treatment recommendations for symptoms associated with ME/CFS warrants review and consideration.

Please see the attached synopsis for more details about this requirement.

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