Abstract
FiRST (Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool) is a brief questionnaire comprised of six “yes/no” questions for the detection of fibromyalgia syndrome, although it requires further validation among various chronic pain syndromes for clinical use. After authorized translation into Japanese and FiRST authorization for academic use, we used the Japanese FiRST in our chronic pain outpatients as questionnaires. The FiRST questionnaire was used to assess 81 patients with chronic pain due to fibromyalgia (n=11), and the results compared with other chronic pain patients (n=70). A cut-off score of 5 (the number of positive items) identified fibromyalgia patients with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 71.6%. Each of the six questions revealed a significant difference (Fisher-test) in comparison between fibromyalgia and another chronic pain syndromes group. In conclusion, FiRST is a simple questionnaire with excellent discriminative value in daily practice, comprehensively delineating fibromyalgia. However, it is not good enough to use as the sole diagnostic tool.
