Or...Search this site Home Symptoms Live Discussion Diagnosis Treatment Area Support Library Research Lymelinks Contact Pets & Lyme DONATIONS Drug Info Medical Dictionary Board of Directors      Click on the graphic to vote for this site as a Starting Point Hot Site. -- No Warranties or Representations The data and information presented in this web site are presented in good faith and believed to be accurate. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions including any inaccuracies, errors, or misstatements in such data or information is expressly disclaimed. The web site is compiled for the sole purpose of informing community members of resources and information pertaining to Lyme Borreliosis Disease and its coinfections. The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, Directors and members are not liable for any direct or indirect damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this website. Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect. en français For Physicians Ticks Coinfections Prevention Our Stories Click Here to order our free Lyme Disease Flyer,    Here for our free Lyme Disease Poster ..documents may be copied (to distribute) but edit only for alignment. Andrea Gaito, MD, F.A.C.R., President, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society ILADS is a Professional Medical and Research Organization with some of the top Lyme literate doctors listed as directors. www.ilads.org/officers.html The recent article in the Annals of Internal Medicine entitled “Duration of Antibiotic Therapy for Early Lyme Disease” draws several conclusions that seem to be contradictory to the findings of several authorities on Lyme disease in treating patients with erythema migrans. Our collective experience has shown that 10 days of therapy has been consistently insufficient in preventing the development of a multitude of systemic manifestations. Our experience has repeatedly demonstrated that patients who have been treated with short-duration antibiotics return for repeat therapy because of a lack of symptomatic improvement. The Annals study selected a population group not representative of the normal population; all patients with “any underlying condition that might interfere with evaluability on follow up” were excluded. Additionally, many of the outcome measures were rendered based on the clinical observation of objective criteria which is not always present in Lyme disease patients. Most importantly, over 50% of the subjects in each of the 3 study groups were subsequently retreated with a second course of antibiotics for “unrelated conditions.” The article fails to mention that these “unrelated illnesses” were in their previously ultra-healthy study group. There is also no mention of the antibiotic selection and whether or not these antibiotics had activity toward Lyme disease. The conclusions drawn by this study are invalid. Over half of the patients were retreated over the ensuing 30 months with antibiotics under the guise of other diseases. The study inadvertently demonstrated that indeed short-duration antibiotic therapy warrants retreatment. The article would be more suitably retitled, “Short-term Therapy for Early Lyme Disease Yields Treatment Failure in 50% of Patients.” To Top