Lyme Disease: Diagnosis, Treatment Guidelines, and Controversy

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 30,000 people per year are diagnosed with Lyme disease (LD) in the United States. LD can be effectively treated if diagnosed early in the course of disease. A more difficult disease path may follow if early symptoms go unnoticed and untreated. Complicating this clinical situation is the controversy over LD serologic diagnostic reliability and the terminology and treatment approaches to later stage LD. Nurse practitioners should have a working knowledge of the clinical presentation of LD at various stages and the diagnostic testing and treatment regimen guidelines recommended.