Abstract
Low-grade fever is a common symptom in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The mechanisms responsible for its development are poorly understood. However, several phenomena suggest that psychological stress contributes to the development and exacerbation of low-grade fever in some CFS patients. One phenomenon is workday hyperthermia. Here some patients exhibit higher axillary temperatures on working days compared with holidays. Another phenomenon is a robust stress-induced hyperthermic response. That is, some patients develop extremely high core temperatures (e.g., up to 1.0℃ increase within one hour) during psychological stress-associated interview. This article reviews how psychological stress affect the body temperature in CFS patients and describes the treatment of CFS patients whose low-grade fever is associated with psychological stress.
