Evidence map›Paper›PMID 9181379›Full record

ArticleInfection

Lyme borreliosis--an overdiagnosed disease?

B Svenungsson, G Lindh

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Infection. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 50% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Differential diagnoses of suspected Lyme borreliosis or post-Lyme-disease syndrome.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2007
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Identifying diagnostic peptides for lyme disease through epitope discovery.Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology · 2001
    Article
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.

B SvenungssonDept. of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
G Lindh
Karolinska Institutet · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ninety-nine patients who were referred to a clinic for infectious diseases on suspicion of Lyme borreliosis and whose major symptoms were fatigue, headache, myalgia and arthralgia were studied retrospectively to find out if there was any difference in symptomatology between patients who were seropositive or seronegative to Borrelia burgdorferi. 64/82 (78%) patients remembered one or more tick bites during previous years and 32/74 (43%) patients had a history of erythema migrans. Fatigue, headache, myalgia and arthralgia occurred in 84%, 72%, 54%, and 63% of the patients, respectively. 62/99 (63%) patients had an elevated IgM and/or IgG antibody titer to B. burgdorferi. There was no difference in frequency of symptoms between seropositive and seronegative individuals. 48/99 (49%) patients were treated with antibiotics, mostly oral doxycycline. Only 50% were improved after treatment. On follow-up 2 to 4 years after the first visit, 40% of the patients had recovered completely, 31% were improved, 24% reported unaltered symptoms and four patients were impaired. There was no difference in symptoms on follow-up between seropositive or seronegative patients. It is concluded that there probably is an overdiagnosis of Lyme borreliosis and that better microbiological methods are needed to confirm active disease.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAntibodies, BacterialBorrelia burgdorferi GroupChildFalse Positive ReactionsFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansImmunoglobulin MLyme DiseaseMaleMiddle AgedSwedenAntibodies, BacterialImmunoglobulin M

Identifiers

PMID9181379
OpenAlexW2015959389

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.