Development of a foundation for a case definition of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome

SummaryObjectivesThe study objective is to demonstrate the clinical and research utility of an operationalized definition of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS), as proposed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.MethodsSeventy-four patients with confirmed erythema migrans and 14 controls were enrolled. Patient-reported symptoms and health function (SF-36) were collected pre-treatment and at follow-up visits over 6 months post-treatment.ResultsEight (11%) patients met our operationalized definition of PTLDS, which included self-reported symptoms of fatigue, widespread musculoskeletal pain or cognitive complaints, and functional impact as measured by a T score of