Lyme disease and its treatment implications have become an ever-increasing area of concern within the United States related to the markedly increased prevalence of
infection within the last two decades. The presentation, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of
Lyme disease have been well studied, and thus treatments for this disease are widely available. While the treatment of its early and late stages is relatively simple with 10-14 day and four-week courses of
doxycycline, respectively, the main problem rests in the understanding of the etiology and pathology of
post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). With the time of symptoms onsetting approximately six months
after treatment and potentially lasting indefinitely, this syndrome's effect on patients' quality of life could be devastating. Searching on PubMed, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect using keywords including
Lyme disease, PTLDS,
doxycycline,
erythema migrans,
azlocillin, and treatment, the authors have tried to make clear the different aspects. The authors have reviewed and discussed clinical studies of
Lyme disease and its treatments/potential
therapeutics as well as PTLDS and its sparse treatments/potential
therapeutics.