Table 1.
Healthcare professionals diagnosing fibromyalgia and use of diagnostic tools
| Main job | Do you diagnose fibromyalgia? | Tools used for diagnosis | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No, n (n/N %) | Yes, n (n/N %) | Clinical opinion, n (n/N %) | Tender point exam, n (n/N %) | WPI, n (n/N %) | SS Scale, n (n/N %) | Other, n (n/N %) | No tool, n (n/N %) | |
| N = 979 | N = 717 | N = the number of the professional group who state they make the diagnosis | ||||||
| General Practitioner | 194 (30.3) | 446 (69.7) | 396 (88.8) | 234 (52.5) | 112 (25.1) | 85 (19.1) | 21 (4.7) | 2 (0.4) |
| Hospital doctor | ||||||||
| Pain Medicine | 9 (17.0) | 44 (83.0) | 37 (84.1) | 15 (34.1) | 25 (56.8) | 25 (56.8) | 7 (15.9) | 0 (0.0) |
| Rheumatology | 0 (0.0) | 111 (100.0) | 106 (95.5) | 88 (79.3) | 48 (43.2) | 25 (22.5) | 6 (5.4) | 0 (0.0) |
| Other | 25 (83.3) | 5 (16.7) | 4 (80) | 4 (80) | 3 (60.0) | 2 (40.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Psychiatrist | 3 (75.0) | 1 (25.0) | 1 (100) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Nurse | ||||||||
| General Practice | 41 (82.0) | 9 (18.0) | 7 (77.8) | 4 (44.4) | 5 (55.6) | 3 (33.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (11.1) |
| Pain Medicine | 38 (73.1) | 14 (26.9) | 12 (85.7) | 8 (57.1) | 11 (78.6) | 10 (71.4) | 1 (7.1) | 0 (0.0) |
| Rheumatology | 39 (72.2) | 15 (27.8) | 12 (80.0) | 12 (80.0) | 7 (46.7) | 3 (20.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Other | 77 (98.7) | 1 (1.3) | 1 (100.0) | 1 (100.0) | 1 (100.0) | 1 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Allied Health Professionals | 384 (86.5) | 60 (13.5) | 51 (85.0) | 20 (33.3) | 40 (66.7) | 32 (53.3) | 8 (13.3) | 0 (0.0) |
| Mental Health Professionals | 93 (95.9) | 4 (4.1) | 3 (75.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (50.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Other | 76 (90.5) | 7 (8.2) | 7 (100) | 1 (14.3) | 4 (57.1) | 3 (42.9) | 1 (14.3) | 0 (0.0) |
| Total | 979 (57.7) | 717 (42.3) | 637/717 (88.8) | 387/717 (54.0) | 256/717 (35.7) | 189/717 (26.4) | 46/717 (6.4) | 3/717 (0.4) |
Abbreviations: WPI Widespread Pain Index, SS Scale Symptom Severity Scale