Treatment trials for post-Lyme disease symptoms revisited
Name:
Publisher version
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of MedicineDocument Type
ArticlePublication Date
2013-08-01Keywords
Anti-Bacterial Agents*Borrelia burgdorferi
Chronic Disease
Clinical Trials as Topic
Humans
Lyme Disease
Treatment Outcome
Borrelia burgdorferi
Clinical trials
Lyme diseasePost-Lyme disease syndromeBacterial Infections and MycosesChemical Actions and UsesHealth Services AdministrationPharmaceutical PreparationsTherapeutics
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The authors of 4 National Institutes of Health-sponsored antibiotic treatment trials of patients with persistent unexplained symptoms despite previous antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease determined that retreatment provides little if any benefit and carries significant risk. Two groups recently provided an independent reassessment of these trials and concluded that prolonged courses of antibiotics are likely to be helpful. We have carefully considered the points raised by these groups, along with our own critical review of the treatment trials. On the basis of this analysis, the conclusion that there is a meaningful clinical benefit to be gained from retreatment of such patients with parenteral antibiotic therapy cannot be justified.Source
Am J Med. 2013 Aug;126(8):665-9. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.02.014. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.02.014Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/30142PubMed ID
23764268Related Resources
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