Characteristics of patients with Lyme disease according to study periods
| Characteristic | Period; no. (%) of patients | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2013 n = 66 | 2014–2015 n = 74 | 2016–2017 n = 132 | Total n = 272 | ||
| Age, yr, median (IQR) | 50 (31.6–63.2) | 47.8 (28.9–59.6) | 53.3 (35.5–64.2) | 51.5 (32.6–62.5) | 0.2* |
| Age, yr | 0.6† | ||||
| < 18 | 10 (15) | 12 (16) | 17 (13) | 39 (14) | |
| 18–64 | 41 (62) | 50 (68) | 80 (61) | 171 (63) | |
| ≥ 65 | 15 (23) | 12 (16) | 35 (27) | 62 (23) | |
| Sex | 0.2† | ||||
| Female | 28 (42) | 22 (30) | 53 (40) | 103 (38) | |
| Male | 38 (58) | 52 (70) | 79 (60) | 169 (62) | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index | 0.2‡ | ||||
| 0 | 55 (83) | 60 (81) | 107 (81) | 222 (82) | |
| 1–2 | 10 (15) | 13 (18) | 15 (11) | 38 (14) | |
| ≥ 3 | 1 (2) | 1 (1) | 10 (8) | 12 (4) | |
| Clinical stage | 0.5† | ||||
| Early localized | 17 (26) | 26 (35) | 47 (36) | 90 (33) | |
| Early disseminated | 41 (62) | 34 (46) | 65 (49) | 140 (51) | |
| Late disseminated | 8 (12) | 14 (19) | 20 (15) | 42 (15) | |
| Adherence to IDSA recommendations | 57/64 (89) | 64/71 (90) | 114/126 (90) | 235/261 (90) | 0.9† |
| Hospital admission | 15 (23) | 16 (22) | 17 (13) | 48 (18) | 0.1† |
| Time to first consultation, d, median (IQR) | 7 (2–21) | 4 (1–10) | 3.5 (0–11) | 4 (1–13) | 0.3* |
| Time between first symptom and treatment initiation, d, median (IQR) | 18.5 (9–34) | 17 (4–35) | 12 (4–33) | 15 (5–35) | 0.2* |
| Time between serology sampling and Western blot result, d, median (IQR) | 37.5 (29–47) | 38.5 (30.5–42.5) | 39 (34–43) | 39 (33–43) | > 0.9* |
| Referral to specialist physician | 59 (89) | 60 (81) | 103 (78) | 222 (82) | 0.06† |
| Resolution of objective clinical signs | 65/65 (100) | 72/73 (99) | 128/129 (99) | 265/267 (99) | 0.7† |
| Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome | 3/65 (5) | 4/73 (5) | 20/129 (16) | 27/267 (10) | 0.02† |