Objective To evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy for adolescents aged 10-17 years with chronic fatigue syndrome. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting Department of child psychology. Participants 71 consecutively referred patients with chronic fatigue syndrome; 36 were randomly assigned to immediate cognitive behaviour therapy and 35 to the waiting list for therapy. Intervention 10 sessions of therapy over five months. Treatment protocols depended on the type of activity pattern (relatively active or passive). All participants were assessed again after five months. Main outcome measures Fatigue severity (checklist individual strength), functional impairment (SF-36 physical functioning), and school attendance. Results 62 patients had complete data at five months (29 in the immediate therapy group and 33 on the waiting list). Patients in the therapy group reported significantly greater decrease in fatigue severity (difference in decrease on checklist individual strength was 14.5, 95% confidence interval 7.4 to 21.6) and functional impairment (difference in increase on SF-36 physical functioning was 17.3, 6.2 to 28.4) and their attendance at school increased significantly (difference in increase in percentage school attendance was 18.2, 0.8 to 35.5). They also reported a significant reduction in several accompanying symptoms. Self reported improvement was largest in the therapy group. Conclusion Cognitive behaviour therapy is an effective treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescents.

Early identification of patients with MTBI who are likely to have good 6 month recovery was feasible on the basis of relatively simple prognostic models. A score chart was derived from the models to facilitate clinical application.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common heterogeneous neurological disorder with a wide range of possible clinical outcomes. Accurate prediction of outcome is desirable for optimal treatment. This study aimed both to identify the demographic, clinical, and computed tomographic (CT) characteristics associated with unfavorable outcome at 6 months after mTBI, and to design a prediction model for application in daily practice. All consecutive mTBI patients (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score: 13-15) admitted to our hospital who were age 16 or older were included during an 8-year period as part of the prospective Radboud University Brain Injury Cohort Study (RUBICS). Outcome was assessed at 6 months post-trauma using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE), dichotomized into unfavorable (GOSE score 1-6) and favorable (GOSE score 7-8) outcome groups. The predictive value of several variables was determined using multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. We included 2784 mTBI patients and found CT abnormalities in 20.7% of the 1999 patients that underwent a head CT. Age, extracranial injuries, and day-of-injury alcohol intoxication proved to be the strongest outcome predictors. The presence of facial fractures and the number of hemorrhagic contusions emerged as CT predictors. Furthermore, we showed that the predictive value of a scheme based on a modified Injury Severity Score (ISS), alcohol intoxication, and age equalled the value of one that also included CT characteristics. In fact, it exceeded one that was based on CT characteristics alone. We conclude that, although valuable for the identification of the individual mTBI patient at risk for deterioration and eventual neurosurgical intervention, CT characteristics are imperfect predictors of outcome after mTBI.

The effect of CBT on fatigue in CFS is not mediated by a persistent increase in physical activity.

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