ArticleMolecular diagnosis : a journal devoted to the understanding of human disease through the clinical application of molecular biology2000
Diagnostic value of PCR for detection of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in clinical specimens from patients with erythema migrans and Lyme neuroborreliosis.
Article in Molecular diagnosis : a journal devoted to the understanding of human disease through the clinical application of molecular biology, 2000. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment in neurology - Lyme neuroborreliosis.German medical science : GMS e-journal · 2025Guideline
- Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment in neurology - Lyme neuroborreliosis.German medical science : GMS e-journal · 2020Guideline
- Serum neurofilament light chain associates with symptom burden in Lyme neuroborreliosis patients: a longitudinal cohort study from Norway.Journal of neurology · 2024Trial
- Definite neuroborreliosis with atypical antibody-profiles: a case report.Journal of medical case reports · 2026Article
- The diagnostic potential of proteomics and machine learning in Lyme neuroborreliosis.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Authors' Reply to the Comment by L. Saher and Drs. Qayyum and Aziz Dalton on the Article "Clinical Characteristics in Danish Children and Adults Diagnosed With Neuroborreliosis: A Retrospective Study From January 2016 to January 2024".European journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Molecular diagnostics in cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis of central nervous system infections.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Multiplex High-Definition Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Diagnosis of Tick-borne Infections in Children.Open forum infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Establishment of a digital PCR method for detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex DNA in cerebrospinal fluid.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Retrospective Evaluation of Various Serological Assays and Multiple Parameters for Optimal Diagnosis of Lyme Neuroborreliosis in a Routine Clinical Setting.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Molecular Detection ofDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Lyme neuroborreliosis in Swedish children-PCR as a complementary diagnostic method for detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in cerebrospinal fluid.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2021Article
- Laboratory Diagnosis of Lyme Borreliosis.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2021Review
- Measurement of Organ-Specific and Acute-Phase Blood Protein Levels in Early Lyme Disease.Journal of proteome research · 2020Article
- Pilot Study of Immunoblots with RecombinantHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
- Development of a sensitive PCR-dot blot assay to supplement serological tests for diagnosing Lyme disease.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2018Article
- Cerebrospinal fluid CXCL13 as a diagnostic marker of neuroborreliosis in children: a retrospective case-control study.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2017Article
- Article
- Unilateral phrenic nerve lesion in Lyme neuroborreliosis.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2013Article
- Cerebrospinal fluid findings in adults with acute Lyme neuroborreliosis.Journal of neurology · 2012Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of the study is to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity of a 16S ribosomal RNA-based PCR on clinical specimens from patients with erythema migrans (EM) and neuroborreliosis and to compare the sensitivities with those obtained by in vitro culture and serological testing. A semiquantitative detection system, representing the input amount of specific DNA and thus the density of spirochetes in clinical specimens, indicated the preferred clinical sample to obtain for PCR testing. METHODS AND
resultsSkin biopsy and urine samples from 31 patients with EM and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and urine samples from 30 patients with neuroborreliosis were investigated. Borrelia burgdorferi DNA was detected in 71% of the skin biopsy specimens and 13% of the urine samples from patients with EM. Forty-one percent of the patients with EM were found to have B burgdorferi-specific antibodies in serum, and B burgdorferi was cultured in 29% of the EM specimens. For patients with neuroborreliosis, the diagnostic sensitivities in CSF and urine samples were 17% and 7%, respectively. Specific intrathecal antibody production was found in 90% of the patients, and 87% showed elevated B burgdorferi antibodies in serum. In general, PCR of skin biopsy samples yielded very high amounts of amplicons versus low amounts for CSF and urine samples.
conclusionsPCR of skin biopsy specimens is currently the most sensitive and specific test for the diagnosis of patients with EM, superior to culture and serological testing. For B burgdorferi-specific CSF disgnosis in patients with neuroborreliosis, the measurement of specific intrathecal antibody synthesis is superior to PCR. However, in patients with a short duration of disease (<14 days), PCR may be a useful diagnostic supplement. PCR of urine samples cannot be recommended at the present time for routine diagnosis of patients with EM or neuroborreliosis.
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