Don L. Goldenberg

The American College of Rheumatology Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia and Measurement of Symptom Severity

To develop simple, practical criteria for clinical diagnosis of fibromyalgia that are suitable for use in primary and specialty care and that do not require a tender point examination, and to provide a severity scale for characteristic fibromyalgia symptoms.

Fibromyalgia Criteria and Severity Scales for Clinical and Epidemiological Studies: A Modification of the ACR Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia

Objective. To develop a fibromyalgia (FM) survey questionnaire for epidemiologic and clinical studies using a modification of the 2010 American College of Rheumatology Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia (ACR 2010). We also created a new FM symptom scale to further characterize FM severity. Methods. The ACR 2010 consists of 2 scales, the Widespread Pain Index (WPI) and the Symptom Severity (SS) scale. We modified these ACR 2010 criteria by eliminating the physician’s estimate of the extent of somatic symptoms and substituting the sum of 3 specific self-reported symptoms. We also created a 0–31 FM Symptom scale (FS) by adding the WPI to the modified SS scale. We administered the questionnaire to 729 patients previously diagnosed with FM, 845 with osteoarthritis (OA) or with other noninflammatory rheumatic conditions, 439 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 5210 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Results. The modified ACR 2010 criteria were satisfied by 60% with a prior diagnosis of FM, 21.1% with RA, 16.8% with OA, and 36.7% with SLE. The criteria properly identified diagnostic groups based on FM severity variables. An FS score ≥ 13 best separated criteria+ and criteria− patients, classifying 93.0% correctly, with a sensitivity of 96.6% and a specificity of 91.8% in the study population. Conclusion. A modification to the ACR 2010 criteria will allow their use in epidemiologic and clinical studies without the requirement for an examiner. The criteria are simple to use and administer, but they are not to be used for self-diagnosis. The FS may have wide utility beyond the bounds of FM, including substitution for widespread pain in epidemiological studies.

Comorbidity of fibromyalgia with medical and psychiatric disorders

PURPOSE Patients with fibromyalgia have been reported to display high rates of several concomitant medical and psychiatric disorders, including migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, major depression, and panic disorder. To test further these and other possible associations, we assessed the personal and family histories of a broad range of medical and psychiatric disorders in patients with fibromyalgia. PATIENTS AND METHODS Subjects were 33 women (mean age 42.1 years) who each met American College of Rheumatology criteria for fibromyalgia and presented to a rheumatologist at a tertiary referral center. They received the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID); a supplemental interview, in SCID format, for other medical and psychiatric disorders, including migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome; and an interview for family history of medical and psychiatric disorders. RESULTS Patients with fibromyalgia displayed high lifetime rates of migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, major depression, and panic disorder. They also exhibited high rates of familial major mood disorder. CONCLUSIONS The finding that migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, major depression, and panic disorder are frequently comorbid with fibromyalgia is consistent with the hypothesis that these various disorders may share a common physiologic abnormality.

A Randomized Trial of Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia

BACKGROUND Previous research has suggested that tai chi offers a therapeutic benefit in patients with fibromyalgia. METHODS We conducted a single-blind, randomized trial of classic Yang-style tai chi as compared with a control intervention consisting of wellness education and stretching for the treatment of fibromyalgia (defined by American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria). Sessions lasted 60 minutes each and took place twice a week for 12 weeks for each of the study groups. The primary end point was a change in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) score (ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms) at the end of 12 weeks. Secondary end points included summary scores on the physical and mental components of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). All assessments were repeated at 24 weeks to test the durability of the response. RESULTS Of the 66 randomly assigned patients, the 33 in the tai chi group had clinically important improvements in the FIQ total score and quality of life. Mean (+/-SD) baseline and 12-week FIQ scores for the tai chi group were 62.9+/-15.5 and 35.1+/-18.8, respectively, versus 68.0+/-11 and 58.6+/-17.6, respectively, for the control group (change from baseline in the tai chi group vs. change from baseline in the control group, -18.4 points; P<0.001). The corresponding SF-36 physical-component scores were 28.5+/-8.4 and 37.0+/-10.5 for the tai chi group versus 28.0+/-7.8 and 29.4+/-7.4 for the control group (between-group difference, 7.1 points; P=0.001), and the mental-component scores were 42.6+/-12.2 and 50.3+/-10.2 for the tai chi group versus 37.8+/-10.5 and 39.4+/-11.9 for the control group (between-group difference, 6.1 points; P=0.03). Improvements were maintained at 24 weeks (between-group difference in the FIQ score, -18.3 points; P<0.001). No adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS Tai chi may be a useful treatment for fibromyalgia and merits long-term study in larger study populations. (Funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00515008.)

Acute infectious arthritis: A review of patients with nongonococcal joint infections (with emphasis on therapy and prognosis)

The clinical course of 59 patients with acute nongonococcal septic arthritis has been reviewed with special emphasis on the changing bacterial spectrum in recent years. The results of treatment were dependent on various factors, including the specific microbial agent and host defenses. Treatment should include parenteral antibiotics and drainage with needle aspiration, except in hips which should be surgically drained. Successful therapy requires rapid initiation of treatment and ongoing assessment of adequacy of response.

Fibromyalgia syndrome: an emerging but controversial condition.

The clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and treatment results of 118 patients with fibromyalgia followed up by one investigator were compared with those of other recent reports. The history of this syndrome and recent efforts to establish diagnostic criteria and to understand underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms were studied. A practical, noninvasive office-based evaluation and conservative treatment approach were developed, determined by an understanding of the natural history of this common but controversial disorder. (JAMA1987;257:2782-2787)

Disseminated gonococcal infection : A prospective analysis of 49 patients and a review of pathophysiology and immune mechanisms

Forty-nine patients with disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) hospitalized at Boston City and University Hospitals over a 7-year period were studied. Patients with clinical manifestations of DGI and with cervical, urethral, rectal, pharyngeal, synovial or blood cultures positive for Neisseria gonorrhoeae were separated into two groups based on the presence or absence of suppurative arthritis. There were 19 cases of suppurative arthritis (Group II) and 30 cases with only tenosynovitis, skin lesions, or both (Group I). Blood cultures were positive only in Group I patients (43%) and synovial fluid cultures only in Group II patients (47%). Polyarthralgia was the most common initial symptom in both groups of patients. Twenty-six Group I patients had tenosynovitis (87%), while only 4 Group II patients (21%) had tenosynovitis (p less than 0.001). The knee was the most commonly involved suppurated joint. Twenty-seven Group I patients (90%) had skin lesions compared to 8 Group II patients (42%) (p less than 0.001). Some of these lesions progressed on treatment; some patients were unaware of their lesions. Genitourinary symptoms were unusual in both groups of patients. Eleven women (33%) were menstruating or were pregnant at the onset of DGI. Thirteen patients had histories suggestive of previous gonococcal infections; one had recurrent DGI. This patient and one other were found to have complement abnormalities. There were no cases of endocarditis or meningitis. Four patients had unexplained liver function abnormalities. All patients recovered uneventfully. Strains isolated from disseminated sites were predominantly of the transparent phenotype (90%). Many strains (58%) required arginine, hypoxanthine and uracil for growth. They were also more susceptible to penicillin than reported strains that cause pelvic inflammatory disease. Most strains were of a single outer membrane protein coagglutination serogroup, WI (85%). These characteristics did not vary between the Group I and Group II isolates. The two groups of strains, however, did vary in their complement-dependent bactericidal reactivity to normal human sera. Eighteen of 24 Group I strains (75%) versus 9 of 19 Group II strains (47%) resisted killing by all normal human sera tested (p less than .05). Likewise, convalescent sera from Group II patients were able to kill their infecting strains more often than did sera from Group I patients (70% vs 17%) (p less than 0.01). Thus, variations in the clinical expression of disease in patients with DGI may be explained, in part, by differences in certain phenotypic and immunologic features of infecting strains.

Reduced hypothalamic-pituitary and sympathoadrenal responses to hypoglycemia in women with fibromyalgia syndrome ☆

PURPOSE To perform a detailed comparison of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathoadrenal system in women with and without fibromyalgia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Fifteen premenopausal women who met the 1990 American College of Rheumatology criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia and 13 healthy, premenopausal women were enrolled. We measured baseline 24-hour urinary free cortisol levels and evening and morning adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels, performed stepped hypoglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp studies in which serum glucose levels were decreased from 5.0 to 2.2 mmol/L, and compared the effects of infusions of placebo and ACTH. RESULTS Women with fibromyalgia had normal 24-hour urinary free cortisol levels and normal diurnal patterns of ACTH and cortisol. There was a significant, approximately 30%, reduction in the ACTH and epinephrine responses to hypoglycemia in women with fibromyalgia compared with controls. Prolactin, norepinephrine, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone responses to hypoglycemia were similar in the two study groups. In subjects with fibromyalgia, the epinephrine response to hypoglycemia correlated (P = 0.01) inversely with overall health status as measured by the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire. Graded ACTH infusion revealed similar increases in cortisol in women with fibromyalgia and healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS Patients with fibromyalgia have an impaired ability to activate the hypothalamic-pituitary portion of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis as well as the sympathoadrenal system, leading to reduced ACTH and epinephrine responses to hypoglycemia.

Clinical studyAcute infectious arthritis: A review of patients with nongonococcal joint infections (with emphasis on therapy and prognosis)☆

The clinical course of 59 patients with acute nongonococcal septic arthritis has been reviewed with special emphasis on the changing bacterial spectrum in recent years. The results of treatment were dependent on various factors, including the specific microbial agent and host defenses. Treatment should include parenteral antibiotics and drainage with needle aspiration, except in hips which should be surgically drained. Successful therapy requires rapid initiation of treatment and ongoing assessment of adequacy of response.

2012 Canadian Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of fibromyalgia syndrome: executive summary.

BACKGROUND Recent neurophysiological evidence attests to the validity of fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic pain condition that affects >2% of the population. OBJECTIVES To present the evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis, management and patient trajectory of individuals with FM. METHODS A needs assessment following consultation with diverse health care professionals identified questions pertinent to various aspects of FM. A literature search identified the evidence available to address these questions; evidence was graded according to the standards of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Drafted recommendations were appraised by an advisory panel to reflect meaningful clinical practice. RESULTS The present recommendations incorporate the new clinical concepts of FM as a clinical construct without any defining physical abnormality or biological marker, characterized by fluctuating, diffuse body pain and the frequent symptoms of sleep disturbance, fatigue, mood and cognitive changes. In the absence of a defining cause or cure, treatment objectives should be patient-tailored and symptom-based, aimed at reducing global complaints and enhancing function. Healthy lifestyle practices with active patient participation in health care forms the cornerstone of care. Multimodal management may include nonpharmacological and pharmacological strategies, although it must be acknowledged that pharmacological treatments provide only modest benefit. Maintenance of function and retention in the workforce is encouraged. CONCLUSIONS The new Canadian guidelines for the treatment of FM should provide health professionals with confidence in the complete care of these patients and improve clinical outcomes.