Chronic fatigue syndrome: Successful outcome of an intensive inpatient programme

Objective: To study the outcome of adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) following an intensive multi-disciplinary inpatient programme. Methods: A follow-up questionnaire was distributed to all 57 adolescents who had completed the CFS inpatient programme at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre. Results: Forty-two adolescents (74%) returned follow-up questionnaires. Immediately following the programme and up to five years after the programme, the majority of participants had returned to school and were functioning better in terms of physical activity and social interactions as compared with before the programme. Before the programme, 94% of adolescents were attending school half-time or less. Up to 5 years after the programme, 78% of adolescents were attending school full-time or with occasional absences only. Conclusions: A multidisciplinary inpatient programme for CFS was successful in helping to rehabilitate this group of adolescents who were significantly incapacitated prior to entering the inpatient programme.