Evaluation of selected variables to determine if any had predictive value for, or correlated with, residual symptoms at approximately 12 months after diagnosis and treatment of early Lyme disease.

Abstract

Subjective symptoms may persist after antibiotic treatment of patients with erythema migrans. Selected baseline variables were evaluated to determine if any correlated with symptom persistence to 12 months (PTLDS). Tingling or an abnormal skin sensation were reported by 5 (71.4%) of the 7 PTLDS cases at the baseline visit versus 4 (13.3%) of the 30 initially symptomatic subjects without PTLDS (P= 0.005). The frequency of having a total score of ≥17, when the Beck Depression Inventory score was added to the number of pain sites that the subject reported at the baseline visit, also showed a significant difference: 71.4% versus 10%, P= 0.002. All but 1 of the 7 subjects with possible PTLDS had either a total score of at least 17 on these 2 measures combined or had a score of ≥2 on the stress event questionnaire used. Clinical investigations should be conducted to validate these findings with other patient cohorts.

• Authors: Gary P Wormser, Donna McKenna, Keith D Shaffer, Jesse H Silverman, Carol Scavarda, Paul Visintainer
• Journal: Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease (Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis) Vol. 100 Issue 3 Pg. 115348 (Jul 2021) ISSN: 1879-0070 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 33774355 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents

Topics

• Adult
• Anti-Bacterial Agents (therapeutic use)
• Female
• Humans
• Lyme Disease (diagnosis, drug therapy)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Predictive Value of Tests