Borrelia burgdorferi detected by culture and PCR in clinical relapse of disseminated Lyme borreliosis

A total of 165 patients with disseminated Lyme borreliosis (diagnosed in 19 90-94, all seropositive except one culture-positive patient) were followed after antibiotic treatment, and 32 of them were regarded as having a clinic ally defined treatment failure. Of the 165 patients, 136 were tested by pol ymerase chain reaction (PCR) during the follow-up. PCR was positive from th e plasma of 14 patients 0-30 months after discontinuation of the treatment, and 12 of these patients had a clinical relapse. In addition, Borrelia bur gdorferi was cultured from the blood of three patients during the follow-up . All three patients belonged to the group with relapse, and two of them we re also PCR positive. This report focuses on the 13 patients with clinical relapse and culture or PCR positivity. Eight of the patients had culture or PCR-proven initial diagnosis, the diagnosis of the remaining five patients was based on positive serology only. All 13 patients were primarily treate d for more than 3 months with intravenous and/or oral antibiotics (11 of th em received intravenous ceftriaxone, nine for 2 weeks, one for 3 weeks and one for 7 weeks, followed by oral antibiotics). The treatment caused only t emporary relief in the symptoms of the patients. All but one of them had ne gative PCR results immediately after the first treatment. The patients were retreated usually with intravenous ceftriaxone for 4-6 weeks. None of them was PCR positive after the retreatment. The response to retreatment was co nsidered good in nine patients. We conclude that the treatment of Lyme borr eliosis with appropriate antibiotics for even more than 3 months may not al ways eradicate the spirochete. By using PCR, it is possible to avoid unnece ssary retreatment of patients with 'post-Lyme syndrome' and those with 'ser ological scars' remaining detectable for months or years after infection.