A systematic literature review of randomized controlled trials evaluating prognosis following treatment for adults with CFS, 2022, Chalder

Forthcoming
https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en...me(bbffadae-b24f-4ef4-8739-c3fdbc036429).html

A systematic literature review of randomized controlled trials evaluating prognosis following treatment for adults with chronic fatigue syndrome


Tom Ingman, Abigail Smakowski, Kimberley Goldsmith, Trudie Chalder

Original language English
Journal Psychological medicine
Accepted/In press 18 Jul 2022
King's Authors

• Tom Ingman (Psychology)
• Kimberley Goldsmith (Biostatistics & Health Informatics, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre)
• Trudie Chalder (Psychological Medicine, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre)

Abstract
This systematic review investigated randomized controlled trials evaluating cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET) for adults with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The objective was to determine prognosis following treatment. Studies were eligible if they were peer-reviewed and investigated treatment at least 12 weeks in duration. Studies were excluded if they used co-morbid diagnoses as entry criteria or if they did not measure fatigue, disability, or functioning. Literature published between 1988 and 2021 was searched for using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Study quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project assessment tool. Outcomes were synthesized when three or more studies reported outcomes obtained from the same validated measurement tool. The review included 15 publications comprising 1,990 participants. Following CBT, and at short to medium-term follow-up, 44% considered themselves better and 11% considered themselves worse. Following GET, and at post-treatment to short-term follow-up, 43% considered themselves better and 14% considered themselves worse. These outcomes were 8-26% more favorable compared to control conditions. Two thirds of studies were of moderate quality and the remainder were of weak quality. Limitations of this review relate to the clinical heterogeneity of studies and that most outcomes were self-reported. Results suggest some support for the positive effects of CBT and GET at short to medium-term follow-up although this requires further investigation given the inconsistent findings of previous reviews. Findings may not be generalizable to severe CFS. This review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018086002) and did not receive funding.

 

The Prospero entry: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=86002

Tom Ingman is the one who was looking at what patients mean by 'recovery' for Chalder: https://www.s4me.info/threads/tom-ingman-research-student-chalders-protege-bps-nextgen.11438/

 

I was referred to Dr Chalder in Autumn 2020 and throughout the entire 1 hour interview she never asked about my symptoms, the entire thing was attempting to find some childhood trauma that was responsible for my illness. I had wised up by this point and already knew what ME/CFS was after my GP had exercised me into severe condition. Suffice to say everything people say about this person is spot on accurate, she is dangerous to ME/CFS patients and should never receive NHS money.

 

In most areas it also isn't marketing anymore - CMA guidelines would require them to evidence and be able to reference any claims made (and so they would have to be in pretty specific to what the data actually tested words)

 

It is truly unbelievable from any objective perspective that this person continues to get research funding and, presumably, still has a decent reputation among her peers. She seems to mangle and distort every data set she touches.

 

So sorry to hear this @BrightCandle

 

https://www.virology.ws/2022/08/09/...-discredited-cbt-get-deconditioning-paradigm/

Glad they got around to King's and Chalder. Will be interesting to see how this plays out since Chalder has been in open revolt on the new guidelines since she signed the open letter to NICE rejecting them. I can't imagine like the other departments she accepts this willingly so I expect some fireworks. They ought to fire her and any who refuse to comply with the guidance, just due to the cost in negligence payouts they will have to make if she carries on hurting people knowingly and intentionally.

 

Now published here, open access, https://www.cambridge.org/core/jour...gue-syndrome/9DF6C0E61D98E475DD493C0CBC7F2EBA

 

Aside from the absurdity of Chalder being involved in essentially grading several of her own homework, what's the reason for this review only including 15 trials when there are hundreds, over 300+ in the NICE guidelines evaluation? Especially as it seems like they used looser criteria, Oxford only is OK, so there should be even more than that.

And then there's stuff like this:

2) is Oxford criteria. So they included Oxford, but also excluded it. Good stuff.

Because this one went wide, from 1988 to 2021. And they selected 15.

Not, uh, can't remember the name for the Cochrane thingy. Anyway they're not using it.

Reading appendix 3 does not explain how 3767 were excluded. Only the 35 mentioned are excluded for various reasons that seem arbitrary. And there's this:

The data being held is of course the PACE data, which Chalder is involved in keeping secret. Which is obviously absurd as they have access to the data and PACE did not report its original data.

They seem to report the various PACE papers as different studies, so several of the 15 are actually PACE. They seem to be using the PACE results as originally published with the downgraded protocol, having excluded the reanalysis study. Says "20% recovered".

Basically a joke compared to the exhaustive process NICE went through. The only conclusion is that evidence-based medicine is a terrible, terrible, truly awful process that yields no useful information.

Because from this mediocrity derives the idea that it "proves" that "chronic fatigue" is a psychological disorder. Millions of lives ruined for this. Truly awful.

Also:

Ethical whitewashing. PACE did not comply with Helsinki. There is nothing to report to participants in a systematic review since there are no participants involved.

 

Trial By Error: Another CBT/GET Marketing Document Masquerading as Research from Professor Chalder

https://www.virology.ws/2022/09/07/...querading-as-research-from-professor-chalder/

eta:

 

I hadn't spotted that it was published in Psychological Medicine. This was the journal founded by Michael Shepherd who seems to have played a significant role in the development of SWs career. There is a pleasing circularity.

 

Just noting here that despite cherry-picking a small fraction of the studies published in a span of 34 years, they still say that it's promising. Even though it technically dates back even further than that, this belief system dates back to the 19th freaking century.

Nothing can have existed for 34 years and be "promising". Even for a human, 34 is past the point at which if someone is still a screw-up with nothing to show for it then that's all there is. It's literally the current standard, used everywhere in LC without even bothering to test anything on the back of this mediocre nonsense, but also it's "promising" and needs more research.

It's the complete lack of oversight and accountability that breaks this discipline. They seem fully content with mediocrity, with absolute failure even. Nothing can actually improve in those conditions, where something becomes immovable simply by being popular enough that no one actually cares whether it's any good.

 

She actually credits Kimberly Goldsmith for that(at least she has done in the past)
"I have to thank Kimberly Goldsmith for the analysis, she is the wizard in terms of the statistics behind this."
https://www.s4me.info/threads/trudi...s-interviews-and-news.5576/page-3#post-152193

 

Trial By Error: My Letter to Psych Medicine About Professor Chalder’s Flawed Systematic Review

"Earlier this week, I wrote about the bogus systematic review of treatment trials for “chronic fatigue syndrome” published this month by Professor Trudie Chalder in Psychological Medicine. In many respects, as I noted, this journal functions a an in-house marketing or public relations organ for members of the CBT/GET ideological brigades, of which Professor Chalder is a charter member. (Professors Michael Sharpe and Simon Wessely are on the Psychological Medicine editorial board. Enough said.)

In addition to formally submitting the article through the journal’s online portal, I also posted it on a pre-print server and sent it directly to the two co-editors of the journal. Here it is."

https://www.virology.ws/2022/09/09/...-professor-chalders-flawed-systematic-review/

 

Honestly, they only need to take one look at what happened with Eysenck and not feel bothered by the worst case scenario. Nothing happens, typically. Even discredited ideas, the mantra that a positive outlook makes a huge difference in cancer, is still around, still taught at some universities, still repeated without reservation or shame in public.

I don't think anything bad happened to the many scientists and physicians paid by tobacco companies, and it killed hundreds of millions and continues to kill millions. And that includes Eysenck. They can feel confident that in the very worst case nothing bad will ever happen to them, just like nothing bad actually happened to them for their entire career. Only criticism they could ignore with a sneer. Full pension, lots of friends and colleagues who will still love their work and courage for standing for their beliefs.