J Rheum Dis.  2022 Jan;29(1):4-13. 10.4078/jrd.2022.29.1.4.

Disentangling Diagnosis and Management of Fibromyalgia

Affiliations
  • 1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital, Gwangju, Korea

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition characterized by widespread pain accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive dysfunction, and mood disorder. The pathophysiology of FM has been unclear, leading to inconsistent diagnosis and ineffective management. Several diagnostic criteria for FM have been proposed in recent years, including the revised 2016 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, the criteria of the ACTTION-American Pain Society Pain Taxonomy (AAPT) group, and the modified 2019 Fibromyalgia Assessment Status (FAS) criteria. Despite the appearance of newer criteria for FM diagnosis, the 2016 ACR criteria demonstrate the best performance. Many randomized controlled studies and systematic reviews have shown the therapeutic efficacies of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments of FM. Nevertheless, further research is needed to develop better treatment options.

Keyword

Fibromyalgia; Diagnosis; Therapy

Figure

  • Figure 1 AAPT diagnostic criteria for FM. AAPT: the ACTTION- American Pain Society Pain Taxonomy (AAPT) group, MSP: multisite pain, FM: fibromyalgia. Adapted from the article of Arnold et al. (J Pain 2019;20: 611-28) [15].

  • Figure 2 Modified 2019 FAS criteria for FM. FAS: fibromyalgia assessment status. Adapted from the article of Salaffi et al. (Rheumatology [Oxford] 2020;59:3042-9) [16].


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