Functional signs in patients consulting for presumed Lyme borreliosis

Little is known about the functional symptoms associated with Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Europe. We aimed to assess functional symptoms associated with presumed LB and to compare patients with and without confirmed LB.

We performed a retrospective monocenter study. Patients consulting for presumed LB were included.

Between November 2015 and June 2018, 355patients were included (mean age: 51years, 52% of women) of which 48had LB: erythema migrans (42%), early disseminated LB (50%; 35% of neuroborreliosis cases), and late disseminated LB (8%). The most frequently reported functional symptoms were neuropathic pain (23%), arthralgia (23%), and asthenia (17%). Other functional symptoms were rare (≤10%). Three hundred and seven (86%) patients did not have LB. Patients with confirmed LB reported fewer functional symptoms than patients without LB (1.8 (±1.7) vs. 3.6 (±2.5), P<0.001) with a shorter duration of symptoms (< 3 months in 48% vs. 16% of cases, P<0.001). They less often reported asthenia (17% vs. 59%, P<0.001), widespread pain (10% vs. 31%, P=0.003), myalgia (10% vs. 32%, P=0.002), memory disorders (4% vs. 16%, P=0.03), irritability (2% vs. 23%, P±0.001), and sadness (0% vs. 16%, P=0.003).

In patients consulting for presumed LB, patients diagnosed with LB had fewer and shorter functional symptoms than patients without LB.