Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Diagnostic Utility of Antibody to Epstein-Barr Virus Early Antigen
- Walter C. Hellinger, MD;
- Thomas F. Smith, PhD;
- Robert E. Van Scoy, MD;
- Peter G. Spitzer, MD;
- Pierre Forgacs, MD;
- Randall S. Edson, MD
- From the Division of Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine (Drs Hellinger, Van Scoy, and Edson) and the Section of Clinical Microbiology (Dr Smith), Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minn; and the Section of Infectious Diseases, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Mass (Drs Spitzer and Forgacs).
Abstract
Antibody to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) early antigen has been said to be the most specific indicator of symptomatic chronic EBV infection. We studied the clinical utility of this serologic test in the evaluation of patients with chronic fatigue. Thirty patients with chronic fatigue and highly elevated titers of antibody to early antigen (≥1:160) were compared with 30 age- and sex-matched controls with no antibody to early antigen. There were no significant differences noted between patients and controls at the initial evaluation (symptoms, physical examination, laboratory data). Follow-up information, available for 15 matched pairs, showed no differences in outcome between patients and controls. We conclude that the antibody to EBV early antigen is not helpful in the clinical evaluation of patients with chronic fatigue.
(JAMA 1988;260:971-973)
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to Division of Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905 (Dr Edson).
