title: Relevance of chronic lyme disease to family medicine as a complex multidimensional chronic disease construct: a systematic review.
abstract: Lyme disease has become a global public health problem and a prototype of an emerging infection. Both treatment-refractory infection and symptoms that are related to Borrelia burgdorferi infection remain subject to controversy. Because of the absence of solid evidence on prevalence, causes, diagnostic criteria, tools and treatment options, the role of autoimmunity to residual or persisting antigens, and the role of a toxin or other bacterial-associated products that are responsible for the symptoms and signs, chronic Lyme disease (CLD) remains a relatively poorly understood chronic disease construct. The role and performance of family medicine in the detection, integrative treatment, and follow-up of CLD are not well studied either. The purpose of this paper is to describe insights into the complexity of CLD as a multidimensional chronic disease construct and its relevance to family medicine by means of a systematic literature review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine & Chronic Care, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2088-2293
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Borgermans
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and University Hospitals Leuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Kapucijnenvoer 33, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Goderis
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine & Chronic Care, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3623-8646
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vandevoorde
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine & Chronic Care, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6083-2998
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Devroey