NICE announces next steps for publication of its guideline on ME/CFS

NICE has today (20 October 2021) announced the next steps for publication of its updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

NICE will publish the guideline following a meeting of its Guidance Executive next week.

Today’s announcement follows a roundtable meeting held earlier this week involving representatives from a range of patient and professional organisations, to discuss concerns raised about some aspects of the guideline that had led to the publication of the guideline being paused.

Professor Gillian Leng, NICE chief executive, said:

“We would like to thank all those who took part in the meeting earlier this week for their contributions to what was an extremely open and positive discussion. During the meeting we had a constructive conversation about all the key issues that had been raised – those concerning the criteria for diagnosing ME/CFS, the decision not to recommend graded exercise therapy, the role of CBT, and the particular challenges of treating children and young people with the condition, as well as the approach taken to identifying and considering the evidence.

“We are now confident that the guideline can be effectively implemented across the system and we will discuss the input from the meeting at our Guidance Executive next week with a view to publication of the guideline.”