Examining criteria to diagnose ME/CFS in pediatric samples.

The present study compares the new diagnostic criteria for Pediatric ME/CFS (Jason et al., 2006) with the Fukuda et al. (1994) criteria in a sample of adolescent patients with ME/CFS and controls. The Fukuda et al. criteria diagnose ME/CFS among adult samples, whereas an international team of investigators developed the new Pediatric ME/CFS criteria (Jason et al., 2006) to diagnose pediatric ME/CFS. This study compares both case definitions with a pediatric sample.

Physicians referred thirty-three children and adolescents as having pediatric ME/CFS and 21 without the illness.

The Fukuda et al. criterion was less sensitive than the Pediatric ME/CFS criteria (Jason et al. 2006) in identifying pediatric ME/CFS cases.

Findings suggest the Fukuda et al. criteria are less effective than the Pediatric ME/CFS criteria in correctly diagnosing cases of pediatric ME/CFS.