Sensitivity and Specificity of the CDC Empirical Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Case Definition‪.‬

1. Sensitivity and Specificity of the CDC Empirical Case Definition The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed an empirical case definition for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) that involves assessment of symptoms, disability, and fatigue [2]. The CDC empirical CFS case definition assesses three specific areas to determine whether a person meets criteria for this illness including: 1) disability, using the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36) [3], 2) fatigue, using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) [4], and 3) symptoms, using the CDC Symptom Inventory (SI) [5]. The authors of this empirical case definition feel that the specification of instruments and cut-off points will result in a more reliable and valid approach for the assessment of CFS.