The objective of the present study was to perform a literature review, in an exploratory and analytical way, to determine the research approach in fibromyalgia and chronic pain descriptors related to the matter of information technology. In order to achieve this goal, a bibliographic survey in the electronic databases SciELO, LILACS and PUBMED was carried out. The search for articles was made exclusively in journals found in these databases, and only those published from 1998 to 2008 were considered for the study. The results showed a great variety of assessment questionnaires for fibromyalgia syndrome, among which the following questionnaires stood out in number of citations in articles: Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Quality of Life Assessment - SF-36 Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS), American College of Rheumatology Criteria (ACR), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and McGill Pain Questionnaire. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was the most cited in both fibromyalgia (57%) and chronic pain (56.3%) descriptors. The association of fibromyalgia and chronic pain descriptors with the subject of information technology resulted in 26 articles, representing 9.7% of all articles found in the search. There was also a considerable increase in the number of research carried through during the years 1998-2007, with an annual growth rate of 26%.
fibromyalgia; chronic pain; information technology; health informatics
