Lyme Disease Update Review
Information on lyme disease symptoms,sign,diagnosis,treatment and complication.This is an infectious disease caused by ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi.
Diagnosis and test in Lyme Disease
Lyme disease may be hard to diagnose because its symptoms are like those of many other illnesses. Your doctor will take a careful medical history and do a physical examination to help diagnose early Lyme disease. You may be asked whether you have recently visited an area where you may have been exposed to ticks. The doctor will ask about your symptoms and look for physical signs that may indicate Lyme disease. The clearest physical sign is an expanding, circular red rash (called erythema migrans). See a picture of a Lyme disease rash.
The often vague, flu-like symptoms of Lyme disease can easily be misdiagnosed as another illness(such as chronic fatigue syndrome).
How to diagnose Lyme disease
How to diagnose Lyme disease ?
- Most common in the northeastern, upper midwestern, and western parts of the United States.
- Borrelia burgdorferi is the longest and narrowest ) spirochete member of the Borrelia genus and has the fewest flagella .
- Erythema migrans (EM) is a red expanding lesion with central clearing that is commonly seen during the early stage of Lyme disease.
- The most common systems affected are the skin (EM), the joints (arthritis), the CNS (facial palsy), and the heart (conduction defects).
- Serology is not standardized; it is insensitive in early infection and does not distinguish active from inactive infection.
- Grows in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly medium from skin biopsy and other specimens.
Differential Diagnosis of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease mimics many different diseases. The EM lesion may be confused with streptococcal cellulitis, erythema multiforme (the latter lesions tend to be smaller, urticarial, or vesicular and may occur on mucosal surfaces), and erythema marginatum (these lesions are smaller and migrate rapidly in minutes to hours). Lyme arthritis can be distinguished from other rheumatoid diseases, such as acute rheumatic fever, based on the EM lesion and the brief episode of synovitis. The chronic form of Lyme arthritis may resemble pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter’s syndrome, and reactive arthritis caused by members of the Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia genera. This form of arthritis may also be associated with rubella, hepatitis B, or echoviruses. The aseptic meningitis in Lyme disease may resemble enteroviral, leptospiral, or early tuberculous meningitis. It is important to consider sarcoidosis, Behรงet’s disease, and multiple sclerosis when the disease becomes chronic.
