In their article “Early Lyme neuroborreliosis manifesting as brachial plexopathy and meningitis in Northwestern Ontario, Canada,” Gu and colleagues describe a case of Lyme disease presenting as brachial plexopathy and meningitis.1 The 76-year-old man was initially admitted to the hospital with left arm weakness and neck pain. He also had a 3-day history of body […]

Findings from a study by Johnson and Maloney, “Access to Care in Lyme Disease: Clinician Barriers to Providing Care,” provide some insight into why clinicians may be hesitant in treating Lyme disease.¹ “The primary goal of this study was to identify the challenges faced by clinicians who provide care for patients with PLD/CLD,” the authors […]

A new study looks at the risk of severe COVID-19 in patients with a history of exposure to Lyme disease. In their study “Correlation between COVID-19 severity and previous exposure of patients to Borrelia spp.,” Szewczyk‑Dąbrowska et al.² examined 3 groups of patients: those with severe COVID-19 (hospitalized), asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 (home treated or […]

In their study “Trust the Process: Prolonged Babesia Parasitemia in an Elderly Man with Asplenia from the American Midwest,” Ivancich and colleagues describe an 89-year-old man with multiple comorbidities and splenectomy, who required 8 weeks of treatment for his Babesia infection to clear.¹ The man was evaluated after a fall at home. Prior to the […]

Carson and colleagues surveyed clinicians between August 2020 and February 2022 and reported their findings in the article “Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Illinois medical professionals related to ticks and tick-borne disease.” ¹ The respondents included RNs (61.3%), physicians (21.4%), and APNs/PAs (17.3%). The authors found that clinicians were best at identifying Lyme disease. Out […]

In their article “Powassan Encephalitis: A Case Report from New York, USA,”  Bazer and colleagues describe a male patient who was admitted to the hospital in December due to altered mental status, dysarthria, and a left facial droop.¹ The man also had a history of multiple medical problems including of a right putamen infarct, hepatitis […]

The study, entitled “The Impact of Telemedicine in the Diagnosis of Erythema Migrans during the COVID Pandemic: A Comparison with In-Person Diagnosis in the Pre-COVID Era,” compares clinical data of 439 patients with an erythema migrans (EM) rash before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.¹ Participants in the study were being treated at […]

A case report by Lazaro and Butt, published in the International Medical Case Reports Journal, describes a 67-year-old patient with Lyme disease and femoral neuropathy.¹ This is believed to be the first reported case of isolated femoral neuropathy triggered by Lyme disease. Femoral neuropathy, also referred to as femoral nerve dysfunction, involves a loss of […]

In their article “Lyme neuroborreliosis as a cause of sudden sensorineural hearing loss and facial palsy,” Nitro and colleagues present a case involving a woman in her 40’s who developed a sudden loss of hearing in both ears, along with facial palsy and was later diagnosed with Lyme meningitis.¹ “Bilateral hearing loss is rare,” the […]

Disulfiram was initially marketed in the U.S. as Antabuse as an alcohol sobriety aid which deters alcohol consumption by eliciting physical discomforts (e.g., headache, nausea, hypotension). It’s use as a possible treatment for Lyme disease has been described in several recent studies. Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, possesses survival strategies in humans. […]

Individuals with babesiosis can experience fevers, chills, myalgias, anorexia, headache, nausea, and vomiting. According to the authors, “The least common are shortness of breath, sore throat, neck stiffness, emotional lability, photophobia, and dark urine.” In their study entitled “Atypical Presentation of Babesiosis With Neurological Manifestations as Well as Hematological Manifestations,”  the authors summarize two cases […]

Dr. Meredith Niess discussed the case in more detail in an NPR story.[1] A man was scheduled for hernia surgery. A preoperative X-ray was ordered despite the paucity of evidence of whether the X-ray was needed. The X-ray suggested a mass. The patient was worried about cancer. Cancer was ruled out. “In fact, a follow-up […]

In her article “Lyme Disease and Anesthesia Considerations,” Smit discusses three approaches: Disease awareness Some patients may have Lyme disease that has not been diagnosed. “Infected patients in whom the diagnosis has not yet been made or has been missed may present for invasive investigations such as biopsies or arthroscopies or for larger surgical interventions […]

In 2020, investigators published a case involving a 13-year-old boy with Lyme arthritis, a common manifestation of Lyme disease, who developed a Herxheimer reaction when treated with doxycycline. On the 7th day of treatment, the boy developed a low-grade fever and severe arthralgias with intense hip, ankle and cervical spine pain and myalgias. You can […]

In their study “Pacemaker Explantation in Patients With Lyme Carditis,” Wamboldt and colleagues¹ describe two cases involving the removal of pacemakers in patients with Lyme carditis, which highlights the importance of including Lyme carditis in the differential diagnosis for high-degree AV block. Furthermore, these cases demonstrate the “benefits of early device interrogation in patients who […]