Review articleInterventions in Pediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Systematic Review
Section snippets
Search strategy
The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (The PRISMA Statement) [28]. The following electronic databases were searched: Medline (1987 to 2012), CINAHL (1987–2012), and PsycINFO (1987–2012). The searches were restricted to English-language publications published in peer-reviewed journals from 1987 (because the first universal diagnostic criteria for CFS were published at this time [29]) to May 2012. The Medical
Descriptions of studies
Figure 1 shows the search strategy results. The final sample included 24 papers on 21 studies. A list of excluded articles is available from the corresponding author on request.
Participant characteristics
Participant characteristics for each study are displayed in Table 2. Some variability existed among studies as far as the diagnostic criteria used to define CFS/ME. Most studies [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46] used the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1994
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review undertaken to examine interventions aimed at improving outcomes exclusively in pediatric CFS/ME. Findings from 24 papers evaluating multidisciplinary, psychological, physical, and immunological interventions were reviewed. All of the studies yielded positive findings, but methodological weaknesses were common. Based on systematic quality assessment, the strongest evidence was for CBT-based interventions with weaker evidence for the
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the members of the Melbourne Pediatric CFS/ME Research Team for their support and guidance. All phases of this study were supported by The Mason Foundation Grant through the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Trustees. The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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