Fatigue
Basics
Description
Description
- A subjective state of overwhelming, sustained exhaustion, and decreased capacity for physical and mental work that is not relieved by rest
- Fatigue occurs with or without objective findings on physical exam
- Fatigue is a common complaint in people with and without systemic disease, which makes this complaint a challenge to practicing physicians
- High levels of fatigue are associated with excess mortality in the general population
Etiology
Etiology
- The specific mechanisms of fatigue are unknown
- Hematologic:
- Anemia
- Leukemia
- Endocrine:
- Thyroid disorders
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Diabetes
- Pregnancy
- Malignancy:
- Paraneoplastic syndromes
- Psychiatric:
- Chronic pain
- Emotional distress
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Chemical dependency
- Withdrawal syndromes
- Sleep disorders:
- Insomnia
- Sleep apnea
- Cardiac and pulmonary disorders
- Infections acute and chronic
- Rheumatic and autoimmune disorders
- Nutritional deficiencies including electrolyte abnormalities
- Physical inactivity and deconditioning
- Medications
- Chronic fatigue syndrome:
- Symptom complex defined by the CDC
- Severe chronic fatigue lasting >6 mo
- Not explained by any medical or psychiatric diagnosis
- Presence of 4 or more of the following 8 symptoms:
- Headache
- Arthralgias
- Sleep disturbances
- Lymphadenopathy
- Exercise intolerance
- Myalgias
- Impaired memory/concentration
- Sore throat
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Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Fatigue." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 6th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2020. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307191/1.2/Fatigue.
Fatigue. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307191/1.2/Fatigue. Accessed October 15, 2024.
Fatigue. (2020). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307191/1.2/Fatigue
Fatigue [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, Wolfe RER, Barkin AZA, Shayne PP, Rosen PP, editors. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. [cited 2024 October 15]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307191/1.2/Fatigue.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Fatigue
ID - 307191
ED - Barkin,Adam Z,
ED - Shayne,Philip,
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ED - Schaider,Jeffrey J,
ED - Barkin,Roger M,
ED - Hayden,Stephen R,
ED - Wolfe,Richard E,
BT - 5-Minute Emergency Consult
UR - https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307191/1.2/Fatigue
PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
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DB - Emergency Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
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