Most parents of children diagnosed with Lyme disease reported that their children recovered within six months of finishing antibiotic treatment, according to a new joint study from the National Institute for Children’s Research and the National Institute of Allergy. and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, published in pediatric research. The findings, based on Lyme disease treatment outcome data from 102 children in the United States, also revealed that a remarkably small percentage of children took more than six months to recover and experienced a significant impact on their functioning. diary.
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States and most cases are caused by the bacteria. Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted through the bites of infected blacklegged or deer ticks. Children between the ages of 5 and 9 years account for a large proportion of the approximately 476,000 cases of Lyme disease diagnosed and treated annually in the United States. Common symptoms of Lyme disease include: fever; headache; fatigue; and a distinct skin rash called erythema migrans. Without treatment, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system. Antibiotic treatment that results in a full recovery is successful in most Lyme cases. For some, however, symptoms of pain, fatigue, or difficulty thinking persist or return after antibiotic treatment. Symptoms that substantially reduce activity levels and affect quality of life for more than six months after treatment are classified as post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD) syndrome.
This investigation studied the long-term outcomes of children with Lyme disease through a cross-sectional assessment using validated surveys. The study collected survey responses from parents of 102 children ages 5 to 18 who had been diagnosed with Lyme disease between six months and 10 years prior to enrollment. Adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 were also invited to complete adolescent-specific questionnaires. Based on parent survey responses, 75% of children fully recovered within six months of completion of treatment: 31% of all children recovered within one month; 30% recovered in one to three months; and 14% recovered in four to six months. Approximately 22% of the children in the study experienced at least one symptom that persisted six months or more after completing treatment; of these, 9% had symptoms classified as PTLD syndrome. Six percent of the children did not fully recover at the time of the survey, and 1 percent experienced symptoms significant enough to affect daily functioning, the authors noted.
According to the authors, this study supports previous data showing an excellent overall prognosis for children with Lyme disease, which should help alleviate the understandable parental stress associated with persistent, nonspecific symptoms among infected children. They note that the findings of this study may help clinicians manage family expectations about different post-treatment recovery times for pediatric Lyme disease patients. The researchers suggest that these new data could help reduce the potential for families seeking dangerous alternative therapies for children experiencing prolonged recovery times. PTLD syndrome remains poorly understood in children and adults, and more research is needed to better understand these long-standing symptoms and identify treatment targets, according to the authors.
This study was supported through a partnership between NIAID and the National Children’s Research Institute (CNRI). Researchers from the CNRI Center for Translational Research and the NIAID Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology conducted the study.
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