New test promises faster, more accurate Lyme disease diagnosis, researchers say

Diagnosing Lyme disease can be challenging. Antibody tests frequently produce false-negative results, and the characteristic bullseye rash occurs in only about 25% of patients. Plus, many patients develop skin lesions that resemble those of other illnesses. These factors can complicate and delay accurate diagnosis (the patient whose case was the inspiration for developing the new test waited four years.)

Lyme disease has been on the rise in the United States over the past 30 years, which underscores the need for faster, more accurate testing. Left untreated, infection can lead to heart, joint, and nervous system problems and produce symptoms that can impair quality of life. 

Pain, cognitive difficulties

In a separate matched cohort study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a team of researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and cognitive difficulties occurred 5% more frequently among people with Lyme disease than those with other conditions such as COVID-19. 

For the study, the researchers looked at insurance claims data from 2017 to 2021 in regions where Lyme disease is common. They identified 24,503 patients with Lyme disease and 122,095 patients with other diagnoses (control group). They also compared the relative frequencies of diagnosis codes for pain, fatigue, and cognitive problems in the two groups in the year after diagnosis.

Those symptom codes occurred 5.0% more often among case-patients than among controls and made up 11.0% of all symptom codes among Lyme patients. Except for fatigue, symptom-code frequency among patients with Lyme disease decreased significantly in the six to 12 months after diagnosis and reached levels similar to those of controls by year’s end. 

The team’s findings are consistent with those of previous clinical studies that show “similar persisting symptoms of unclear pathogenesis among a subset of persons who received diagnosis and treatment,” write the researchers.