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Article: Lyme Disease: Diagnostic Challenge, Treatment Enigma.
- Article from:
- RN Advanced Practice Alert
- Article date:
- September 1, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 AHC Media LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Lyme Disease: Diagnostic Challenge, Treatment Enigma
By Joan Unger, RN, MS, ARNP-C
Summary-Sixty percent of patients seen at the Yale University Lyme Disease Clinic had no evidence of current or previous infection, and 19% had previous but no active disease. Only 21% had active Lyme disease (LD). In spite of this number, 75% (94) had received a total of 232 courses of antibiotic treatment. Sixty-nine patients with no evidence of LD (55%) had at least one minor adverse drug reaction.
* LD is transmitted by tick bite and affects multiple body systems. It usually presents with a typical bull's-eye rash, often accompanied by flu-like symptoms.
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