ME expert Dr Enlander: editors should REFUSE to publish papers, like the PACE trial, which use the Oxford criteria

By Derek Enlander, ME Expert:

  We read with interest the Psychiatric statement that fear was a major cause of Exercise not being effective in the treatment of ME CFS. I suppose we may expand this notion of treatment failure due to fear to any research. Ridiculously it could be said that the claim of fear of treatment not only affects ME CFS but other disease entities, thus any treatment research project which fails could be attributed to such fear.

The Oxford criteria for the diagnosis of ME CFS was almost uniquely used by the group publishing this paper and form a mainstay of their criteria. The Oxford criteria are not accepted by the National Institutes of Health and other oversight bodies.

It is the reviewers' responsibility and the editors' responsibility to refuse publication of papers which do not use correct criteria, indeed the BMJ should publish a note of errata.

Competing interests: No competing interests 26 January 2015 Derek Enlander Physician ME CFS Center New York 860 Fifth Avenue New York NY