Ischemia-hyperpnea test is useful to detect patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

To demonstrate the prevalence of neuromuscular hyperexcitability in Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) by electromyography ischaemia-hyperpnea test (IHT) and its correlation with clinical and clinimetric parameters. One hundred and forty-five FMS patients underwent IHT to evaluate neuromuscular hyperexcitability and were evaluated for pain (numeric Rating Scale and Regional Pain Scale), tenderness (tender points), disability [Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)], quality of life (QOL) [Short Form 36 (SF36)], mood [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)], sleep [numeric rating scale (NRS)], and fatigue [Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT)]. Of the 145 patients, 95 were tested positive by IHT, and 33 and 17 patients were negative and borderline, respectively. By comparing the three groups, IHT positive patients had lower age and lower SF36 vitality (V), social activities (SA), and mental summary index (MSI) than negative patients (p