Chronic mononucleosis—a legitimate diagnosis

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The patient who has persistent or recurrent fatigue, sometimes with additional subjective and variable symptoms, is a frustrating problem for the primary care physician. Physical and laboratory findings are often unhelpful. The authors discuss how serologic studies are used to indicate, by a process of exclusion, chronic Epstein-Barr virus infection or another disorder. They emphasize the importance of ruling out other underlying causes for chronic ill health in these patients.