Thursday, January 7, 2016

Long-term Assessment of Post-Treatment Symptoms in Patients With Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease


Recently I came to notice an article about lyme disease, which I’d like to share. Erica Weitzner and colleagues looked at: Long-term Assessment of Post-Treatment Symptoms in Patients With Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease. The study wanted to characterize post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms (PTLDS) with a follow-up of more than 10 years. 10.9% of 128 patients were regarded as having possible PTLDS, but only 4.7% turned out to have PTLDS symptoms at the last study visit. The authors concluded: “PTLDS may persist for >10 years in some patients with culture-confirmed early Lyme disease. Such long-standing symptoms were not associated with functional impairment or a particular strain of B. burgdorferi.”
The problem with PTLDS symptoms (like fatigue, joint and muscle pain, paresthesia, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, or lack of energy) is the fact that these aren’t specific to lyme disease. Some you find for instance also in patients suffering from fibromyalgia.

Some rheumatologists call post Lyme syndrome a myth. The study shows that unspecific symptoms might persist in a minority. And this study is also a hint at not advocating long-term antibiotic treatments in patients with unspecific symptoms.

References:
Erica Weitzner and colleagues: Long-term Assessment of Post-Treatment Symptoms in Patients With Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/61/12/1800

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