New guidelines published online May 6 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal have codified a number of major changes in fibromyalgia (FM) diagnosis and treatment. The authors of the new guidelines note that FM diagnosis and care have largely shifted to primary care physicians and away from rheumatologists and other specialists.
Mary-Ann Fitzcharles, MB ChB, from the Division of Rheumatology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and colleagues writing for the Canadian Fibromyalgia Guidelines Committee said that physicians “must rely on the time-honoured art of medicine” in diagnosing FM, as there are no reliable physical findings or laboratory tests, and that the main treatment goal should be to improve function by relieving the most troublesome symptoms, particularly pain, as they arise.