Nijrolder and colleagues described the diagnoses they found during follow-up of patients presenting with fatigue in primary care. 1 Our study (prospective, cross-sectional, within a one-year period 2) was performed to determine accompanying reasons for the encounter, symptoms, diagnostic procedures, recent diagnoses and therapeutic procedures in patients suffering from fatigue in a primary care setting. Fatigue was associated with acute infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, anemia, mental disorders, heart and circulation problems and nephropathies. The low rate of diagnoses at the initial consultation stated by Nijrolder and colleagues may be due to a watchful waiting strategy. Our investigation revealed that about 70% of the patients with fatigue were asked to see their general practitioner again. Watchful waiting seems to be a proper strategy after excluding cardiovascular problems and severe infections. This is supported by earlier investigations of Kenter and colleagues, 3 who found that fatigue is often a temporary story.
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For the full letter, go to: www.cmaj.ca/cgi/eletters/cmaj.090647v1#232962