Investigation of Pathergy In Patients With Fibromyalgia

Abstract

Aim: Recent studies showed increased axon reflex flare reaction to mechanical and chemical stimuli associated with neurogenic inflammation in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). Pathergy test is identified as a non-specific hypersensitivity reaction to minimal trauma. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether patients with FM had a positive pathergy test or not. Methods: Forty-six patients who met the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for the classification of FM and fifty-one healthy control subjects (HCs) were included in this study. Twenty-eight patients with Behcet’s disease were included as disease control for Pathergy test. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was used for assessment of functional status in patients with FM. The Nottingham Health Profile was used for assessment of quality of life in all subjects. Results: There was no significant difference in demographic characteristics between the three groups (p > 0.05). NHP-pain, NHP-physical mobility, NHP-energy, NHP-emotional reaction, NHP-sleep and NHP-total scores were significantly higher in patients with FM compared to HCs (p < 0.001). Neither patients with FM nor HCs had a positive pathergy test. Conclusion: There are some pathophysiological changes in the skin biopsies of patients with FM; however, these changes are not accompanied by a positive pathergy test. Key Words: Fibromyalgia, Pathergy test