A retrospective cohort study of Lyme disease patient outcomes

Abstract

Lyme disease is a vector-borne illness caused by Borrelia spp. bacterium and spread primarily through the bite of a tick to humans and other mammalian hosts. Despite being a common disease prevalent in many regions of the world, there remains a considerable amount of uncertainty surrounding many aspects of the disease and consensus on the most appropriate and effective means of treating the illness remains to be achieved. Recommendations published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), which are the primary guidelines followed by health care professionals treating Lyme disease, diverge in many of their key recommendations. Given this lack of consensus, surprisingly little research has been conducted on patient outcomes following different treatment approaches. In this study, patient outcomes from 210 Canadian Lyme disease patients seeking treatment at one US Lyme disease clinic following a treatment regimen conforming to the ILADS treatment guidelines were evaluated. It was found that the 201 of the 210 Lyme disease patients at the clinic responded positively to treatment and a significant (P<0.05) decrease in symptoms were observed over time. This study, along with related studies, may help to guide physicians to provide their patients with the most appropriate and effective means of care.