Brief, self-report fibromyalgia screener evaluated in a sample of chronic pain patients

To validate a self-report fibromyalgia screener in a chronic pain population.

Adults with chronic pain were evaluated with a six-item, self-report fibromyalgia screening tool based on revised American College of Rheumatology (ACR) fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria, with fibromyalgia diagnosed when patients experienced chronic pain and scored ≥13 on the ACR fibromyalgia symptom severity scale. Patients were independently assigned clinical diagnoses by treating clinicians.

University-based, tertiary care pain clinic.

Three hundred thirty-seven mixed chronic pain patients.

Agreement between the clinical diagnosis and screener diagnosis was good (P < 0.001), with 76% sensitivity and 82% specificity.

A self-administered, brief fibromyalgia screening questionnaire can effectively identify chronic pain patients who will likely have clinical fibromyalgia.