Korean J Med.
1998 Nov;55(5):921-925.
Incidence and clinical manifestations of chronic fatigue syndrome in patients with fibromyalgia
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Fibromyalgia is a common rheumatologic disease characterized by chronic myalgia, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Chronic fatigue syndrome is chracterized by debilitating fatigue of at least 6 months duration accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, pharyngitis, painful lymph nodes, headache, myalgia, sleep disturbances, neurocognitive complaints, and depression. There has reported that 70% of patients with fibromyalgia met the centers for Disease Control and Prevention symptom criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome. The objectives of this study were to determine how frequently patients with fibromyalgia met the criteria for and chronic fatigue syndrome and what symptoms were manifested.
METHODS
34 patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia were participated in the study. The questionnaire made according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria was administerd and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were diagnosed by this questionnaire, physical examination and laboratory tests.
RESULTS
21% (7 patients) of patients with fibromyalgia met the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome. The symptoms in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were memory loss/forgetfullness (100%), sore throat (57%), painful lymph node (29%), myalgia (100%), multiple arthralgia (57%), headache (57%), unrefreshing sleep (86%), postexertional malaise (86%).
CONCLUSION
21% of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia met the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome. The incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome in our study is low as compared with the previous study (70%) in 1996.
