ArticleBMC family practice2016
Investigating unexplained fatigue in general practice with a particular focus on CFS/ME.
Article in BMC family practice, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary Supplementation for Fatigue Symptoms in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)-A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- A Literature Review of GP Knowledge and Understanding of ME/CFS: A Report from the Socioeconomic Working Group of the European Network on ME/CFS (EUROMENE).Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2020Pooled it
- Modulating subjective and objective cognitive state fatigue in long COVID with repetitive anodal tDCS: results from a double-blinded randomized controlled trial.BMC neuroscience · 2026Trial
- Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): A Review of Recent Evidence and Future Research Directions Toward the Elucidation of a Metabolic, Immunologic, and Signaling Cascade.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Higher-order brain processes, rather than early processing, underlie sensory problems in ME/CFS: evidence from ERPs.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- The potential therapeutic approaches targeting gut health in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): a narrative review.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Review
- Cognitive Dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-Aetiology and Potential Treatments.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Medication use and symptomology in North American women with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Post-COVID-19 Cognitive Dysfunction: Analyzing the Role of Age, Lifestyle, and Neurological Impairments: A Multi-Centric Case-Control Study.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2025Article
- A Real-Life Study in Patients Newly Diagnosed with Autoimmune Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: Analysis of Asthenia as Admission Complaint.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Soft-Shelled Turtle Peptide Supplementation Modifies Energy Metabolism and Oxidative Stress, Enhances Exercise Endurance, and Decreases Physical Fatigue in Mice.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- An attempt to explain the neurological symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Journal of translational medicine · 2021Review
- Informatics Inference of Exercise-Induced Modulation of Brain Pathways Based on Cerebrospinal Fluid Micro-RNAs in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Network and systems medicine · 2020Article
- The presence of overlapping quality of life symptoms in primary antibody deficiency (PAD) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology : official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2020Article
- Chronic fatigue syndrome in the emergency department.Open access emergency medicine : OAEM · 2019Article
- Onset Patterns and Course of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2019Article
- Does the microbiome and virome contribute to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome?Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2018Review
- [Chronic adrenal insufficiency: an underestimated cause of chronic fatigue].The Pan African medical journal · 2018Article
- Infection Elicited Autoimmunity and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An Explanatory Model.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Unexplained fatigue is not infrequent in the community. It presents a number of challenges to the primary care physician and particularly if the clinical examination and routine investigations are normal. However, while fatigue is a feature of many common illnesses, it is the main problem in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). This is a poorly understood condition that is accompanied by several additional symptoms which suggest a subtle multisystem dysfunction. Not infrequently it is complicated by sleep disturbance and alterations in attention, memory and mood.Specialised services for the diagnosis and management of CFS/ME are markedly deficient in the UK and indeed in virtually all countries around the world. However, unexplained fatigue and CFS/ME may be confidently diagnosed on the basis of specific clinical criteria combined with the normality of routine blood tests. The latter include those that assess inflammation, autoimmunity, endocrine dysfunction and gluten sensitivity. Early diagnosis and intervention in general practice will do much to reduce patient anxiety, encourage improvement and prevent expensive unnecessary investigations.There is presently an on-going debate as to the precise criteria that best confirms CFS/ME to the exclusion of other medical and psychiatric/psychological causes of chronic fatigue. There is also some disagreement as to best means of investigating and managing this very challenging condition. Uncertainty here can contribute to patient stress which in some individuals can perpetuate and aggravate symptoms. A simple clinical scoring system and a short list of routine investigations should help discriminate CFS/ME from other causes of continued fatigue.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.