Functional signs in patients consulting for presumed Lyme borreliosis

IntroductionLittle 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.Materials and methodsWe performed a retrospective monocenter study. Patients consulting for presumed LB were included.ResultsBetween November 2015 and June 2018, 355 patients were included (mean age: 51 years, 52% of women) of which 48 had 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).ConclusionIn patients consulting for presumed LB, patients diagnosed with LB had fewer and shorter functional symptoms than patients without LB.