Observational studyBMC infectious diseases2019
Cognitive impairments in patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease.
Observational study in BMC infectious diseases, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01207739 (Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe. A Prospective, Randomised Study Comparing Two Prolonged Oral Antibiotic Strategies After Initial Intravenous Ceftriaxone Therapy for Patients With Symptoms of Proven or Possible Persistent Lyme Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe. A Prospective, Randomised Study Comparing Two Prolonged Oral Antibiotic Strategies After Initial Intravenous Ceftriaxone Therapy for Patients With Symptoms of Proven or Possible Persistent Lyme Disease
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Association between spirochaetal infection and neurodegenerative diseases: a systematic review and quantitative synthesis of observational studies.Journal of medical microbiology · 2026Pooled it
- A meta-analysis on the relationship between subjective cognitive failures as measured by the cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ) and objective performance on executive function tasks.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2025Pooled it
- Polyvalent mRNA vaccine targeting outer surface protein C affords multi-strain protection against Lyme disease.NPJ vaccines · 2025Article
- Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Lyme Disease: A Literature Review of Psychiatric and Cognitive Impacts.Acta medica Lituanic · 2025Article
- Prevalence and predictors of persistent cognitive and psychological symptoms in non-hospitalized post-COVID-19 patients seeking care at an outpatient post-COVID-19 clinic.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Assessment of cognitive function, structural brain changes and fatigue 6 months after treatment of neuroborreliosis.Journal of neurology · 2023Article
- Prevalence of persistent symptoms after treatment for lyme borreliosis: A prospective observational cohort study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2021Article
- Objective cognitive performance and subjective complaints in patients with chronic Q fever or Q fever fatigue syndrome.BMC infectious diseases · 2020Article
- Symptom Clusters and Functional Impairment in Individuals Treated for Lyme Borreliosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPersistent symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis often include self-reported cognitive impairment. However, it remains unclear whether these symptoms can be substantiated by objective cognitive testing.
methodsFor this observational study, cognitive performance was assessed in 280 adults with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis (as part of baseline data collected for the Dutch PLEASE study). Cognitive testing covered the five major domains: episodic memory, working memory / attention, verbal fluency, information-processing speed and executive function. Patients' profiles of test scores were compared to a large age-, education- and sex-adjusted normative sample using multivariate normative comparison. Performance validity was assessed to detect suboptimal effort, and questionnaires were administered to measure self-reported cognitive complaints, fatigue, anxiety, depressive symptoms and several other psychological factors.
resultsOf 280 patients, one was excluded as the test battery could not be completed. Of the remaining 279 patients, 239 (85.4%) displayed sufficient performance validity. Patients with insufficient performance validity felt significantly more helpless and physically fatigued, and less orientated. Furthermore, they had a lower education level and less often paid work. Of the total study cohort 5.7% (n = 16) performed in the impaired range. Among the 239 patients who displayed sufficient performance validity, 2.9% (n = 7) were classified as cognitively impaired. No association between subjective cognitive symptoms and objective impairment was found.
conclusionsOnly a small percentage of patients with borreliosis-attributed persistent symptoms have objective cognitive impairment. Performance validity should be taken into account in neuropsychological examinations of these patients. Self-report questionnaires are insufficiently valid to diagnose cognitive impairment.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01207739 . Registered 23 September 2010.
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