Follow-up of patients treated with oral doxycycline for Lyme neuroborreliosis

The clinical outcome for 69 patients treated with oral doxycycline for Lyme neuroborreliosis was studied retrospectively. The clinical follow-up time was 14 d to 2 y (median 7 months). All patients improved during and after t reatment. A complete recovery was seen in 56 patients by 14 d to 9 months ( median 6 weeks) after therapy, while 13 patients (19%) still had persistent sequelae 1 y after antibiotic treatment, Six patients were retreated becau se of new or persistent symptoms, but in no patient was a treatment failure proven, A questionnaire was sent to each patient, asking for time to recov ery, sequelae and relapse of symptoms. No patient had experienced relapse o f symptoms associated with Lyme neuroborreliosis when answering the questio nnaire 2-9 y after treatment. Oral doxycycline seems to be an effective, co nvenient and inexpensive alternative for the treatment of Lyme neuroborreli osis.