Lyme Disease Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices of New Hampshire Primary Care Physicians

Background: Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vectorborne illness in the United States and is endemic in many counties in the Northeast, including counties in New Hampshire. Previous studies conducted elsewhere on Lyme disease have indicated substantial differences between physician prac-tices and published consensus guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. Methods: During 1999, we mailed a 21-item questionnaire to 600 randomly selected family practice physicians, internists, and pediatricians in New Hampshire. Results: Respondents answered a median of 10 (76.9%) of 13 knowledge items correctly. Most phy-sicians (73.6%) underestimated the incidence of erythema migrans among Lyme disease patients, and 41.2 % would either test or offer treatment to an asymptomatic patient with deer-tick bite. When sur-veyed, most respondents (72.4%) planned to recommend Lyme disease vaccine to high-risk persons. Approximately one half (44.8%) reported giving empiric antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease solely because of patient concern. Conclusions: New Hampshire primary care physicians indicated good knowledge about Lyme dis-ease. Lack of awareness about Lyme disease diagnostic criteria, however, could contribute to misdiag-nosis through overreliance on laboratory testing. Lyme disease vaccine appeared to be well accepted b