A total of 35 patients with late stage Lyme borreliosis with involveme
nt of the joints was followed up until 3 years after a 14 day course o
f 2 g ceftriaxone once daily i.v. Diagnosis was confirmed by indirect
and direct microbiological methods as well as clinical signs and sympt
oms. Long term clinical results in 26 patients at 36 months were compl
ete response or marked improvement in 19, relapse in six and new manif
estations in four of the cases, respectively. Possible mechanisms for
non-responding to therapy are discussed. Therapy was well tolerated; i
n no case discontinuation of treatment was necessary due to adverse dr
ug reactions. The treatment results in this group of 35 patients with
Lyme arthritis are considered successful. The data obtained are consis
tent with expectations based on the published experiences with ceftria
xone in this indication.