In their article “Isolated Sudden Bilateral Neurosensory Hearing Loss as a Presentation of Lyme Neuroborreliosis: A Case Study,” Rochd et al. discuss the case of a 23-year-old woman who “presented with a 2-month history of temporal headache, tinnitus, and instability, which was followed by sudden bilateral hearing loss without any other associated symptoms.”¹ The woman […]
Hearing loss – a complication of Lyme disease Read More »
Lyme carditis syncope episodes indicate severe heart block requiring immediate medical attention. A 26-year-old man who fainted three times overnight was found to have third-degree heart block from a tick bite one month earlier. His case demonstrates how quickly Lyme disease can disseminate from initial infection to life-threatening cardiac complications – and why fainting spells
Lyme disease causes heart block within one month of infection Read More »
In their article, “An analysis of companion animal tick encounters as revealed by photograph-based crowdsourced data,” Kopsco and colleagues found, “The percentage of reports of ticks found on companion animals is more than doubled in the fall and winter seasons from what was reported in the spring and summer seasons.”¹ Between January 1, 2014 and December
Can pets harbor ticks, even in the winter? Read More »
Borrelia mayonii is a recently discovered species that causes Lyme disease with atypical features. Since the species was first identified 7 years ago, there have been only 7 reported cases of Lyme disease caused by Borrelia mayonii. In Open Forum Infectious Diseases Correspondence, McGowan and colleagues describe the recent case of a Borrelia mayonii infection
Borrelia Mayonii: Atypical Lyme Disease in the Midwest Read More »
The case involved a 46-year-old man with Lyme disease who presented to the clinic with cardiac complications, which initially manifest as palpitations. The patient lived in a Lyme endemic region and reported that one month earlier, he had a “pinching sensation in his right thigh with an associated macular erythematous rash,” according to the authors.
Lyme disease causes cardiac complications Read More »
Bartonella psychiatric symptoms can include agitation, panic disorder, and treatment-resistant depression. In their 2007 article, “Do Bartonella Infections Cause Agitation, Panic Disorder, and Treatment-Resistant Depression?” Schaller and colleagues describe three patients with acute psychiatric symptoms associated with Bartonella-like signs and symptoms. Each patient was exposed to ticks or fleas and manifested symptoms consistent with Bartonella
Bartonella Psychiatric Symptoms: Case Reports Read More »
Rocky Mountain spotted fever diagnosis can be challenging, especially with atypical presentations. Rocky Mountain spotted fever has primarily been reported in 5 states in the United States, according to the CDC. These include Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and North Carolina. However, RMSF has been documented in other states, as well. The disease can be transmitted
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Diagnosis: Clinical Challenges Read More »
In their article “A Longitudinal Study of a Large Clinical Cohort of Patients with Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Co-Infections Treated with Combination Antibiotics” Xi and colleagues looked at 140 individuals who tested positive for tick-borne infections (TBI) with 33% of those patients infected with multiple TBIs. The authors found that out of the 140 participants:
How effective is combination antibiotic treatment for tick-borne infections? Read More »
Anaplasmosis and Lyme disease co-infection can lead to serious cardiac complications. Over the last several years, there has been a three-fold increase in the number of anaplasmosis cases in the United States. The tick-borne illness can be transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged (deer) tick and causes flu-like symptoms, similar to those seen
Anaplasmosis and Lyme Disease: Cardiac Complications Read More »
Acute Lyme carditis complete block can develop within just 2 weeks of tick exposure – much faster than the “several weeks to months” timeline doctors typically expect. A 21-year-old man was found unresponsive with complete heart block only 14 days after visiting an endemic area. His case challenges the assumption that cardiac complications only occur
Acute Lyme disease causes complete heart block Read More »
