ArticleDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)2018
A Brief Questionnaire to Assess Post-Exertional Malaise.
Article in Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 148 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
148 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- The evidence base for physiotherapy in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome when considering post-exertional malaise: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of translational medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Cognitive Rehabilitation and Functional Outcomes in Long COVID-Related Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Symptom-based rehabilitation in people with post-COVID-19 condition (RELOAD study): a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Trial
- Physical activity coaching programme for people with Long COVID: a pilot randomised clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- A digital platform with activity tracking for energy management support in long COVID: a randomised controlled trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Long COVID brain fog treatment: An early-phase randomized controlled trial of constraint-induced cognitive therapy signals go.Rehabilitation psychology · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Effects of a symptom-titrated exercise program on fatigue and quality of life in people with post-COVID condition - a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Exercise does not cause post-exertional malaise in Veterans with Gulf War Illness: A randomized, controlled, dose-response, crossover study.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2024Trial
- Functional Limitations and Exercise Intolerance in Patients With Post-COVID Condition: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Structured, expert-informed selection and harmonization of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in a German multicenter network: the post-COVID syndrome use case.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2026Article
- Article
- Skeletal muscle properties in long COVID and ME/CFS differ from those induced by bed rest.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Item comprehension and content coverage of patient-reported outcome measures for long COVID: a qualitative study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Handgrip strength in children, adolescents, and young adults with suspected myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Symptom-based clusters in people with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC).Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Tele-rehabilitation for individuals with long COVID: a randomised clinical trial.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves clinical symptoms and functional capacity and modulates thalamic connectivity in ME/CFS: a prospective cohort study.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Observational
- Novel activity and participation scales for children, adolescents, and young adults with postacute infection and vaccination syndromes and/or ME/CFS.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
88 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is a key symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Currently, five PEM-items from the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ) were recommended as a first step in measuring this symptom for patients with ME and CFS by the National Institutes of Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (NIH/CDC) Common Data Elements' (CDE) working group. The second step in this process, as recommended by the NIH/CDC CDE working group, involves assembling information from various sources to confirm the presence of PEM. There have not been any efforts, to date, to standardize this second-step process in the assessment of PEM. The current study examined whether five supplementary items on the DSQ could be used to operationalize the second step of the recommendations made by the NIH/CDC CDE working group. The five supplementary DSQ PEM duration items correctly categorized patients with ME or CFS 81.7% of the time, while incorrectly categorizing multiple sclerosis (MS) and post-polio syndrome (PPS) as ME or CFS only 16.6% of the time. The findings suggested that a PEM second-step process could be operationalized using supplementary DSQ items.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.