Pilot Study of a Multidisciplinary Inpatient Rehabilitation of Severely Incapacitated Patients with the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The outcome of severely incapacitated patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome is poor. We examined the outcome of the first 19 such patients admitted to a psychiatric ward in a general hospital for a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme. Seventeen (89%) patients had functionally improved by discharge, the median Kamofsky score improvement being 15 points in all 19 patients. All fourteen patients who were followed up had maintained or exceeded their improvement by one year, with a median Karnofsky score improvement of 25 in all 16 followed up patients, compared to admission. Only two patients had not improved by discharge and they were the same or worse at one year. A randomised controlled trial is necessary to confirm the efficacy and acceptability of this form of rehabilitation.