University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Correspondence to: G. E. Ehrlich, 241 South Sixth Street, 1101, Philadelphia PA 19106, USA. E-mail: g2e{at}mindspring.com
SIR, Peter Croft's wise words [1] are slightly marred by his reference to the American College of Rheumatology criteria for fibromyalgia as diagnostic criteria rather than as classification criteria for reporting purposes [2]. There are no diagnostic criteria, as even the tender points are circular reasoning and self-reported (and in many instances, learned). The sooner we abandon fibromyalgia as a diagnosis and treat the very real physical and psychological symptoms that characterize chronic pain, the better off we and the patients will be [36].
The author has declared no conflicts of interest.
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