CDC Guidelines for the evaluation and study of CFS

The Centers for Disease Control website presents a summarized version of the 1994 definition (originally published in the 1994 Annals of Internal Medicine) at their site: http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/case-definition/1994.html .

As a reference guide, it is useful to print out the summarized version. Patients may also want to give a copy to their physicians.

In 2010 and 2012, the CDC substantially improved its website information on the CFS diagnostic process. Patients and Health Care Professionals should review the CDC website's most comprehensive explanation of the diagnostic process.

1. Diagnosis (http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/diagnosis/index.html)—this section of the CDC website covers the following topics: Diagnostic challenges, Exams and Screening Tests for CFS, and Criteria for Diagnosing CFS. It also includes information for patients who think they might have CFS.
2. Diagnostic Tests to Exclude Other Causes (http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/diagnosis/testing.html)—this section includes tests that will exclude other causes of fatiguing illness and diagnose illness other than CFS.

For the ease of our readers, we are making these sections available here; however, patients may wish to print-out the information at CDC web pages for their providers.