Background: Consumer reports provide information on benefits and harms in routine clinical care. We report the first fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) consumer reports in Europe.
Material and methods: The study was carried out from November 2010 to April 2011. The benefits and harms of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies experienced by the patient were assessed in an 11-point Likert scale (0=no, 10=very high benefit or harm) by a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed by the German League against Rheumatism and the German Fibromyalgia Association to their members and to all consecutive FMS patients of nine clinical centers of different levels of care.
Results: A total of 1,661 questionnaires (95% women, mean age 54 years) were analyzed. Self-management strategies (distraction, resting, aerobic exercise), physical therapies (warm and pool therapies), psychological therapies (education, psychotherapy), and inpatient multicomponent therapies were judged to be more efficacious and less harmful than all types of pharmacological therapies.
Conclusion: The German fibromyalgia consumer reports highlight the importance of non-pharmcological therapies in the long-term management of FMS.