Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33105645›Full record

ArticleAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)2020

Efficacy of Double-Dose Dapsone Combination Therapy in the Treatment of Chronic Lyme Disease/Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) and Associated Co-infections: A Report of Three Cases and Retrospective Chart Review.

Richard I Horowitz, Phyllis R Freeman

Open access · goldAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Activity of BiocidinFrontiers in antibiotics · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Concurrent Infection of the Human Brain with MultipleInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Richard I HorowitzMember, HHS Babesia and Tick-borne Pathogens Subcommittee, Washington, DC 20201, USA.
Phyllis R FreemanHudson Valley Healing Arts Center, Hyde Park, NY 12538, USA.
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Three patients with multi-year histories of relapsing and remitting Lyme disease and associated co-infections despite extended antibiotic therapy were each given double-dose dapsone combination therapy (DDD CT) for a total of 7-8 weeks. At the completion of therapy, all three patients' major Lyme symptoms remained in remission for a period of 25-30 months. A retrospective chart review of 37 additional patients undergoing DDD CT therapy (40 patients in total) was also performed, which demonstrated tick-borne symptom improvements in 98% of patients, with 45% remaining in remission for 1 year or longer. In conclusion, double-dose dapsone therapy could represent a novel and effective anti-infective strategy in chronic Lyme disease/ post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS), especially in those individuals who have failed regular dose dapsone combination therapy (DDS CT) or standard antibiotic protocols. A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial is warranted to evaluate the efficacy of DDD CT in those individuals with chronic Lyme disease/PTLDS.

Indexed as

babesiosisbartonellosisdapsone combination therapy (DDS CT)double-dose dapsone combination therapy (DDD CT)florescent in situ hybridization (FISH)Lyme diseasepersistent infectionpost-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS)

Identifiers

PMID33105645
PMCPMC7690415
OpenAlexW3093949336

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.