Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) “deviated from usual scientific standards” and could cause harm, a group of researchers have claimed.
More than 50 international specialists analysed NICE’s 2021 guidance and questioned the evidence underlying the decision to stop recommending graded exercise therapy (GET) and recommending only cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for symptom management and distress.1 “The consequences of this are that patients may be denied helpful treatments and therefore risk persistent ill health and disability,” they wrote in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
NICE has vehemently rejected the study’s conclusions, telling The BMJ that it stands by the recommendations outlined in the guidelines.
The institute produced its first CFS/ME guidance in …