Table 1. Characteristics and background data ✫.
| Group 0 PTLDS (no. = 85) | Group 1 Bb s.l. POS other TBI NEG (no. = 31) | Group 2 Bb s.l. POS other TBI POS (no. = 40) | Group 3 Bb s.l. NEG other TBI POS (no. = 32) | Group 4 Bb s.l. NEG other TBI NEG (no. = 36) | TOTAL 0–4 (no. = 224) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age—year median (range) | 58 (20–92) | 55 (26–76) | 59 (18–83) | 45 (19–77) | 44 (19–68) | 55 (18–92) |
| Male/Female—no. (%) | 40/45 (47/53) | 17/14 (55/45) | 19/21 (48/52) | 12/20 (38/62) | 15/21 (42/58) | 103/121 (46/54) |
| Patients with symptoms of more than 1 year—no. (%) | 74 (87) | 25 (81) | 34 (85) | 26 (81) | 31 (85) | 190 (84) |
| Symptom duration—median (range) | 4 (1–26) | 4 (1–29) | 3 (1–13) | 5 (1–40) | 5 (1–34) | 4 (1–40) |
| Patients that recalled tick bite—no. (%) | 64 (75) | 25 (81) | 26 (65) | 23 (72) | 27 (75) | 165 (74) |
| Patients with documented erythema migrans | 73 (86)* | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 73 (33) |
| Patients with documented neuroborreliosis | 13 (15)* | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 13 (6) |
| Patients with documented acrodermatitis atroficans | 3 (3.5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (1) |
| No. of reported symptoms—median (range) | 8 (3–15) | 7.5 (5–16) | 7 (2–18) | 8.5 (3–15) | 8 (4–14) | 8 (2–18) |
| Previous antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease—no. (%) | 82 (96)* | 27 (87) | 30 (75) | 15 (47) | 22 (61) | 176 (79) |
| Duration—days median (range) | 14 (10–165) | 14 (10–21) | 14 (10–90) | 10 (10–350) | 10 (10–90) | 14 (10–350) |
| IV antibiotics—no. (%) | 8 (9) | 3 (10) | 4 (10) | 1 (3) | 2 (6) | 18 (8) |
| No. of antibiotic treatments—median (range) | 2 (0–6)* | 1 (0–4)* | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–6) | 1 (0–5) | 1 (0–6) |
| No. of different antibiotics used—median (range) | 1 (0–3)* | 1 (0–2)* | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–4) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–4) |
| Previously investigated at a clinic abroad—no. (%) | 10 (12) | 3 (10) | 5 (12·5) | 3 (9) | 8 (22) | 29 (13) |
| Previously treated at a clinic abroad—no. (%) | 7 (8) | 2 (6) | 3 (7·5) | 3 (9) | 2 (6) | 17 (8) |
| Ongoing sick-leave due to current symptoms—no. (%) | 30 (35) | 10 (32) | 10 (25) | 8 (25) | 13 (36) | 71 (32) |
| At work (full time or part time)—no. (%) | 35 (41) | 20 (65) | 20 (50) | 20 (63) | 22 (61) | 117 (52) |
| Proposed antibiotic treatments after CVI assessment—no. (%) | 5 (6) | 2 (6) | 4 (10) | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 14 (6) |
| Borrelia—no. (%) | 2 (2.5) | 2 (6) | 2 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 6 (3) |
| Rickettsia—no. (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.4) |
| Anaplasma—no. (%) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 1 (2.5) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 3 (1.3) |
| Bartonella—no. (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (2.5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.4) |
| C. Neoehrlichia—no. (%) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 3 (1.3) |
| Fulfilling suggested critereria for PTLDS—no. (%) | 85/85 (100) | 0/31 (0) | 0/40 (0) | 0/32 (0) | 0/36 (0) | 85/224 (38) |
✫ Bb s.l. denotes Borrelia burgdorferi sensu latu, TBI tick borne infection, N total number, no. number, PTLDS post-treatment LD syndrome.
* Statistically significant difference at p<0.05 level compared to the groups with no *.