In May, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a draft of its evidence review on the diagnosis and treatment of ME/CFS for public comment. This review has been in development since 2018, and was to be the CDC’s first step in the development of new US clinical guidelines for ME/CFS.
Emerge Australia has submitted a comment on this review out of concern that it does not accurately reflect the state of evidence for graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as treatments for ME/CFS, overstating their benefit, and that it will contribute to the ongoing harm to patients with the condition.
As this review provided no new insights into effective treatments for ME/CFS, the CDC has decided to put new clinical guidelines on hold until further clinical trial evidence is available.
Emerge Australia strongly advocates for evidence-based treatment recommendations and clinical guidelines, and for research funding for effective treatments.
Public comment is open until August 16.
You can read the draft evidence review here:
http://www.regulations.gov/document/CDC-2021-0053-0001
And Emerge Australia’s submission here:
