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Fatigue in patients with erythema migrans
Gary P Wormser1, Praveen Sudhindra1, Eliana Lopez1
1Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595.
Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
|August 25, 2016
Summary
Fatigue is common in early Lyme disease patients with erythema migrans. A higher number of symptoms strongly correlates with increased fatigue severity in these patients.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
- Neurology
Background:
- Fatigue is a prevalent symptom in Lyme disease patients.
- Early Lyme disease, characterized by erythema migrans, can present with significant fatigue.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize fatigue in untreated adult patients with erythema migrans.
- To identify factors correlating with the presence and severity of fatigue in early Lyme disease.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS-11), and Short Form General Health Survey (SF-36 v2) to assess fatigue.
- Evaluated 51 adult patients with erythema migrans.
- Assessed correlations between fatigue measures and other clinical variables.
Main Results:
- All three fatigue assessment tools showed positive correlations with each other.
- 51% of patients reported fatigue (VAS > 0), and 19.6% experienced severe fatigue (FSS-11 ≥ 4).
- The total number of symptoms was the strongest correlate for both the presence and severity of fatigue.
Conclusions:
- Approximately 20% of early Lyme disease patients experience severe fatigue.
- Increased symptom burden is significantly associated with fatigue in early Lyme disease.
- Fatigue in early Lyme disease may represent an acute sickness response, potentially linked to proinflammatory processes.
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