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Inadequate nice 'cfs/me' evidence base laid bare...

INADEQUATE NICE 'CFS/ME' EVIDENCE BASE LAID BARE...

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A SIMPLE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE UK NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH AND CLINICAL EXCELLENCE (NICE) TREATMENT OF ME/CFS PATIENTS AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS CLINICAL GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT REVEALS ALL. See below and the fully referenced summary tabular presentation of the evidence online at:

www.angliameaction.org.uk/docs/nice-rcts.pdf

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NICE Evidence base for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), 2003.
Totals:
80 systematic reviews, 1107+RCTs, 89,230+patients.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NICE Evidence base for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), 2007.
Total:
CBT & GET: 1 systematic review, 14 RCTs, 1448 patients.
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NICE ME Treatments Evidence Base 2005:

NICE based its principal recommendations on 18 trials (14 RCTs).
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The principle NICE recommendations for ME were based on one systematic review, comprising 18 clinical trials of widely varying quality, reflecting the experience of only 1448 patients. The 2003 NICE guideline for Multiple Sclerosis, relied on an evidence base consisting of 80 systematic reviews, comprising more than 1107 RCTs, reflecting the accumulated experience of 89,230 patients.

You cannot write mandatory NHS guidelines for a quarter-of-a-million UK ME patients, based on such a minuscule corpus of evidence.
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Facts:
There are 240,000 ME patients in the UK.
There are 76,00 MS patients in the UK.
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FULLY REFERENCED SUMMARY TABULAR PRESENTATION OF THE EVIDENCE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AT:
www.angliameaction.org.uk/docs/nice-rcts.pdf

For additional background also see:
http://www.angliameaction.org.uk/NICEJRdocs/Neil_Abbot_MERUK_WS.pdf

Kev Short
contact@angliameaction.org.uk

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-Message ends-
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
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Location
UK
Very well put! Good to have this simple (not simplistic) analysis. The NICE stuff for ME would be even more worthless if not based on appropriate selection criteria but I'm not familiar with that literature and don't know what diagnostic criteria were used to select patients.