Pitfalls in diagnosis of Lyme disease. What you need to know about serologic testing.
Lyme disease can be difficult to recognize because not all patients have erythema migrans or other classic symptoms. Therefore, laboratory testing has become an important aid to clinical diagnosis. But the story doesn't end there-serologic testing presents another set of problems and concerns. Drs. Still and Ryan explain how aspects of the disease itself and various factors inherent in the available tests can affect laboratory results.
Still
M M
MM
Department of pediatric subspecialties, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pennsylvania 17822-1339, USA.
Ryan
M E
ME
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial