Abstract
Objectives
Paediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (pCFS) is a common condition that significantly disrupts a healthy psychosocial development. Psychiatric symptoms associated with pCFS are conceptualized as either part of its complex etiology, its consequence, or as a comorbidity. However, patients with this condition are rarely seen by psychiatrists. This scoping review aims to explore the role of psychiatry in the diagnosis and treatment of pCFS.
Content
A scoping review of literature was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and PsycINFO. Databases were searched for articles describing psychiatric involvement in the diagnosis or treatment of children and adolescents (age ≤ 18) with pCFS. A grey literature search was also conducted to identify additional guidelines and national recommendations to identify the role of psychiatry in the diagnosis and treatment of pCFS.
Summary
The search provided 436 articles of which 16 met inclusion criteria. Grey literature search identified 12 relevant guidelines. Most studies and guidelines did not include any psychiatric involvement in the care of patients with pCFS. If psychiatry was mentioned, it was used interchangeably with psychological interventions or in the context of treating distinct psychiatric comorbidities and suicidal ideation.
Outlook
The role of psychiatry in diagnosis and treatment of pCFS is poorly defined. Future research is required to understand how psychiatrists can contribute to the care of patients with pCFS.
Acknowledgments
Sarah Wickett, MLIS, a health sciences librarian at Queen’s University who assisted in developing the search strategy.
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Research funding: None declared.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Informed consent: Not applicable.
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Ethical approval: Not applicable.
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Supplementary Material
This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2023-0030).
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