Undetected Fibrositis in Primary Care Practice

The prevalence of symptoms related to fibrositis was investigated for patients seen in a primary care setting. Of 692 adult patients evaluated, 33 (4.6 percent) had symptoms of unexplained, chronic, diffuse muscular pain. Only three patients had been diagnosed as having fibrositis by their physician. Eighteen of 31 patients had symptoms sufficiently severe to interfere with their ability to perform their job or household chores. The percentages of these patients who met the fibrositis criteria ranged from 17 to 55 percent. These results suggest that unexplained, diffuse muscular aching is a common problem, that it is rarely diagnosed, and that the use of several criteria to define fibrositis excludes many patients with the typical primary symptoms.