Clinical correlates of fatigue in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Fatigue is a recognised manifestation of immune-mediated neuropathies, but its causes and implications are unclear. This study aimed to explore the correlates of fatigue amongst a number of clinical parameters in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), in order to better understand potential contributing factors and resulting consequences.Twenty-six clinically stable CIDP patients underwent assessments of motor and sensory function, disability, quality of life and depression and anxiety. Experienced fatigue was assessed using the Rasch-built fatigue severity scale and Checklist of Individual Strength.The two utilized fatigue scales showed significant inter-correlation. Only depression scores and grip strength predicted experienced fatigue levels in multivariate regression analyses. Fatigue scores inversely correlated with strength, sensory, disability and quality of life scores.Experienced fatigue is likely multifactorial in CIDP, with both physical and neuropsychiatric components. Fatigue is associated with lower functional and quality-of-life outcomes in CIDP. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.