Evaluation of study patients with Lyme disease, 10-20-year follow-up

To determine the long-term impact of Lyme disease, we evaluated 84 randomly selected, original study patients from the Lyme, Connecticut, region who h ad erythema migrans, facial palsy, or Lyme arthritis 10-20 years ago and 30 uninfected control subjects. The patients in the 3 study groups and the co ntrol group did not differ significantly in current symptoms or neuropsycho logical test results. However, patients with facial palsy, who frequently h ad more widespread nervous system involvement, more often had residual faci al or peripheral nerve deficits. Moreover, patients with facial palsy who d id not receive antibiotics for acute neuroborreliosis more often now had jo int pain and sleep difficulty and lower scores on the body pain index and s tandardized physical component sections of the Short-Form 36 Health Assessm ent Questionnaire than did antibiotic-treated patients with facial palsy. T hus, the overall current health status of each patient group was good, but sequelae were apparent primarily among patients with facial palsy who did n ot receive antibiotics for acute neuroborreliosis.