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Lyme Disease, Pediatric

Elizabeth Candell Chalom, MD Reviewed 10/2018
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

Multisystem illness caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, carried by the deer tick 

EPIDEMIOLOGY

  • Can affect people of all ages, but 1/3 to 1/2 of all cases occur in children a...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Tick bite

    • History of tick bite can only be elicited in 1/3 of patients with Lyme disease.

    • Most people with tick bites do not develop Lyme disease.

    • Even in endemic areas, risk of developi...

TREATMENT

MEDICATION

  • Oral antibiotics

    • Initial therapy for early Lyme disease

    • Specific therapies

      • Patients >8 years old: Doxycycline is drug of choice.

      • Younger children or people who do not tolerate tetra...

ONGOING CARE

PROGNOSIS

  • In general, prognosis is much better for children than for adults. Only 2% of children have chronic arthritis at 6 months.

  • Most of the cardiac manifestations will disappear with o...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Bunikis J, Barbour AG. Laboratory testing for suspected Lyme disease. Med Clin North Am.  2002;86(2):311–340. [View Abstract on OvidInsights]

  • Feder HM Jr. Lyme disease in childr...

CODES

ICD9

  • 088.81 Lyme Disease

  • 711.80 Arthropathy associated with other infectious and parasitic diseases, site unspecified

  • 320.7 Meningitis in other bacterial diseases classified elsewhere

ICD10

  • A69.20 Ly...

FAQ

  • Q: What does the deer tick look like?

  • A: The deer tick is flat, very small (about the size of a pin head), and has eight legs. The adult male is black, and the female is red and black. They can gro...

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