New Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for FM

1. New Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria for FM It’s been 20 years since the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) published the criteria for the classification of fibromyalgia. The old requirement of a tender point exam has been omitted and replaced with a symptom checklist. Now that we’ve introduced you to the new preliminary criteria, we invite you to see how you measure up to this new grading system in the following survey. This does not take the place of a professional diagnosis, but will give you an idea of what is being proposed. You will have an opportunity to comment at the end of the survey. Make sure you have a pencil and a scratch sheet of paper before you begin so that you can write down three simple numbers during the survey. As usual, all information contained in this survey is anoymous. * 1. Age: Age: Younger than 20 21-29 30-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70 or older * 2. Gender: Gender: Male Female 3. Which one of the following applies? (Check one) Which one of the following applies? (Check one) A physician has diagnosed me with fibromyalgia A healthcare provider has suggested that I might have fibromyalgia I suspect I have fibromyalgia, but have not been officially diagnosed I have a family member or friend who has fibromyalgia I have other painful conditions (such as Lupus, arthritis, complex regional pain syndrome, etc.) but not fibromyalgia I am only taking the survey out of curiosity None of the above * 4. If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, how many years have you had the symptoms? If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, how many years have you had the symptoms? 0-5 6-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30 years or more Never officially diagnosed Not applicable * 5. How many years has it been since you were officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia? How many years has it been since you were officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia? 0-5 6-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30 years or more Never officially diagnosed Not applicable * 6. Have you ever had a tender point exam? Have you ever had a tender point exam? Yes No I don’t recall 7. If Yes, did you have 11 or more of the 18 tender points? If Yes, did you have 11 or more of the 18 tender points? Yes No I don’t recall * 8. Are you a Member of the Fibromyalgia Network? Are you a Member of the Fibromyalgia Network? Yes No Former member I am not sure The following 3 questions apply to people with fibromyalgia, so if you do not have it please click Not applicable where appropriate. * 9. If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, who officially diagnosed you? (Check one) If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, who officially diagnosed you? (Check one) Rheumatologist Physical medicine and rehab specialist (physiatrist) Pain specialist Primary care physician / family doctor Internist Neurologist Osteopath Chiropractor Psychiatrist Infectious disease specialist Immunologist Acupuncturist Alternative medicine practitioner Nurse practitioner Physical therapist Other No one Not applicable * 10. If you have fibromyalgia, who is primarily in charge of your current treatment? (Check one) If you have fibromyalgia, who is primarily in charge of your current treatment? (Check one) Rheumatologist Physical medicine and rehab specialist (physiatrist) Pain specialist Primary care physician / family doctor Internist Neurologist Osteopath Chiropractor Psychiatrist Infectious disease specialist Immunologist Acupuncturist Alternative medicine practitioner Nurse practitioner Physical therapist Other No one Not applicable * 11. If you have fibromyalgia, how effective would you rate your treatment? If you have fibromyalgia, how effective would you rate your treatment? Not effective Mildly effective Effective Very effective Extremely effective Unsure Not applicable 2. New Clinical Fibromyalgia Diagnostic Criteria - Part 1 Make sure you have a pencil and a scratch sheet of paper before you begin so that you can write down three simple numbers during the survey. Determining Your Widespread Pain Index (WPI) The WPI Index score from Part 1 is between 0 and 19. To answer the following questions, patients should take into consideration • how you felt the past week, • while taking your current therapies and treatments, and • exclude your pain or symptoms from other known illnesses such as arthritis, Lupus, Sjogren’s, etc. * 1. Check each area you have felt pain in over the past week. (It may help to refer to the diagram about the new criteria.) Check each area you have felt pain in over the past week. (It may help to refer to the diagram about the new criteria.) Shoulder girdle, left Shoulder girdle, right Upper arm, left Upper arm, right Lower arm, left Lower arm, right Hip (buttock) left Hip (buttock) right Upper leg left Upper leg right Lower leg left Lower leg right Jaw left Jaw right Chest Abdomen Neck Upper back Lower back None of these areas * 2. Count up the number of areas checked and enter your WPI score here: Count up the number of areas checked and enter your WPI score here: This is your WPI score. You must write down this total from Part 1 on a separate piece of paper before continuing. Exit this survey >> 3. Symptom Severity Score (SS score) - Part 2a To answer the following questions, patients should take into consideration • how you felt the past week, • while taking your current therapies and treatments, and • exclude your pain or symptoms from other known illnesses such as arthritis, Lupus, Sjogren’s, etc. Indicate your level of symptom severity over the past week using the following scale. * 1. Fatigue Fatigue 0 = No problem 1 = Slight or mild problems; generally mild or intermittent 2 = Moderate; considerable problems; often present and/or at a moderate level 3 = Severe: pervasive, continuous, life disturbing problems * 2. Waking unrefreshed Waking unrefreshed 0 = No problem 1 = Slight or mild problems; generally mild or intermittent 2 = Moderate; considerable problems; often present and/or at a moderate level 3 = Severe: pervasive, continuous, life disturbing problems * 3. Cognitive symptoms Cognitive symptoms 0 = No problem 1 = Slight or mild problems; generally mild or intermittent 2 = Moderate; considerable problems; often present and/or at a moderate level 3 = Severe: pervasive, continuous, life disturbing problems * 4. Tally your score for Part 2a (not the number of checkmarks) and enter it here: Tally your score for Part 2a (not the number of checkmarks) and enter it here: You must write down this total from Part 2a on the same piece of paper you wrote your WPI score on (from Part 1) before continuing. 5. What Your Scores Mean You will be asked to enter scores from previous pages. If you forgot to write the three numbers down, or don't remember them, you may hit the previous button below or your browser back button. Your data will not be lost by doing either. 1. Enter your WPI score here: Enter your WPI score here: 2. Add your Part 2a AND Part 2b scores (not just the last number you jotted down). Enter the TOTAL here: Add your Part 2a AND Part 2b scores (not just the last number you jotted down). Enter the TOTAL here: The Symptom Severity Score (SS score) is the sum of Parts 2a & 2b. This total can range from 0 to 12 points. A patient meets the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia if the following 3 conditions are met: 1a. The WPI score (Part 1) is greater than or equal to 7 AND the SS score (Part 2a & b) is greater than or equal to 5 OR 1b. The WPI score (Part 1) is from 3 to 6 AND the SS score (Part 2a & b) is greater than or equal to 9. 2. Symptoms have been present at a similar level for at least 3 months. 3. You do not have a disorder that would otherwise explain the pain. For example: If your WPI (Part 1) was 9 and your SS score (Parts 2a & b) was 6, then you would meet the new FM diagnostic criteria. If your WPI (Part 1) was 5 and your SS score (Parts 2a & b) was 7, then you would NOT meet the new FM diagnostic criteria. *The new FM diagnostic criteria did not specify the number of "Other Symptoms" required to score the point rankings from 0 to 3. Therefore, we estimated the number of symptoms needed to meet the authors' descriptive categories of: 0 = No symptoms 1 = Few symptoms 2 = A moderate number 3 = A great deal of symptoms * 3. Did you meet the new diagnostic criteria for FM? Did you meet the new diagnostic criteria for FM? Yes No Unsure * 4. Do you feel the new criteria offers a fair and reasonable assessment of your symptoms? Do you feel the new criteria offers a fair and reasonable assessment of your symptoms? Yes No Unsure * 5. Was this survey helpful? Was this survey helpful? Yes No Unsure * 6. In your opinion, do you think this new criteria: (check all that apply) In your opinion, do you think this new criteria: (check all that apply) Makes it easier for doctors to diagnose fibromyalgia Makes it harder for doctors to diagnose fibromyalgia Makes it more confusing for doctors to diagnose fibromyalgia Makes it less confusing for doctors to diagnose fibromyalgia Is an improvement on the existing fibromyalgia criteria Will lead to a greater misdiagnosis of patients who have other illnesses Will improve the credibility of fibromyalgia patients Will worsen the credibility of fibromyalgia patients No opinion * 7. Do you think this new criteria will lead to better treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms? Do you think this new criteria will lead to better treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms? Yes No Unsure 8. We would appreciate your comments on the new diagnostic criteria. Please do not ask us questions that require a response in the survey comments sections because we will not be able to identify you (everyone is anonymous). We would appreciate your comments on the new diagnostic criteria. Please do not ask us questions that require a response in the survey comments sections because we will not be able to identify you (everyone is anonymous).