Pooling was not appropriate for CFS.In studies with control groups of patients without the symptom of tiredness , prevalence of somatic disease was identical to those complaining of tiredness .
Depression , however , was more frequent among those with tiredness .
Conclusions Serious somatic disease is rare in patients complaining of tiredness .
Since prevalence is similar in patients without tiredness , the association may not be causal .
Background Tiredness is one of the most frequent complaints in primary care .
Although often self-limiting and frequently associated with psychosocial stress , patients but also their physicians are often uncertain regarding a serious cause and appropriate diagnostic work-up .
We conducted a systematic review and meta- analysis of studies reporting on differential diagnosis of fatigue in primary care .
Investigating tiredness in Australian general practice. Do pathology tests help in diagnosis?
INTRODUCTION Tiredness is a common presentation in general practice for which pathology tests are commonly ordered . Our aim was to study their utilisation for tiredness . METHODS We examined an integrated data base which contains the medical records for 58,139 patients and their 696,518 associated general practitioner encounters . Three hundred and forty-two patients and their 1652 associated encounters were r and omly selected out of 12,291 patients and their 26,748 associated encounters that had mentioned tiredness ( or a synonym ) . RESULTS One hundred and eighty-one patients ( 53 % ) had at least one pathology test ordered at any time in their episode of care . Patients over 60 years of age , patients who consulted their GP more than once and patients without comorbidity were more likely to have a pathology test ordered . Only 12 patients ( 3 % ) had a significant clinical diagnosis based on an abnormal pathology test . CONCLUSION Pathology testing for patients presenting with tiredness is high . Most tests do not yield a significant clinical diagnosis
Pooling was not appropriate for CFS.In studies with control groups of patients without the symptom of tiredness , prevalence of somatic disease was identical to those complaining of tiredness .
Depression , however , was more frequent among those with tiredness .
Conclusions Serious somatic disease is rare in patients complaining of tiredness .
Since prevalence is similar in patients without tiredness , the association may not be causal .
Background Tiredness is one of the most frequent complaints in primary care .
Although often self-limiting and frequently associated with psychosocial stress , patients but also their physicians are often uncertain regarding a serious cause and appropriate diagnostic work-up .
We conducted a systematic review and meta- analysis of studies reporting on differential diagnosis of fatigue in primary care .