The need for national guidelines to manage fatigue in HIV-positive patients

There are currently no guidelines available for clinicians who treat HIV-infected patients experiencing fatigue. Fatigue in this population is overlooked and undertreated. Guidelines need to be developed. A model developed by Rousswurm and Larrabee can be used to develop such guidelines. The steps to develop guidelines include the following: (a) assess the need for change in practice, (b) link the problem interventions and outcomes, (c) synthesize the best evidence, (d) design the practice change, (e) implement and evaluate the change in practice that has occurred since the guidelines were set up, and (f) integrate and maintain the changes that has come about in practice. By using evidence-based guidelines, the diagnosis and treatment of fatigue in HIV-positive patients experiencing fatigue can be approached in a standardized way, assuring the best treatment to those patients and assisting the health care providers manage patients with guidelines to standardize care.