New Lyme Disease Guidelines for Erythema Migrans Lesions Miss the Mark

If the primary treatment goal for managing patients with erythema migrans (EM) rashes is to restore patients to their pre-Lyme health status, then the guidelines endorsed by Auwaerter et al1 are both inadequately sourced and potentially dangerous.2 Of the 2 trials cited by the authors in support of a 10-day doxycycline regimen, only 1 is applicable to US patients. In that study, almost half of the subjects in each arm failed to complete the 30-month trial.3 At the 12-month observation point, 72% (44 out of 61) had a complete response to therapy, suggesting that this regimen is not highly effective and puts many at risk for post-treatment sequalae that adversely impact quality of life.
Source: The American Journal of Medicine - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Letter Source Type: research