A Controlled Trial of Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Lyme Disease after Deer-Tick Bites

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 327; no. 25; pp. 1769 - 1773
• Main Authors: Shapiro, Eugene D, Gerber, Michael A, Holabird, Nancy B, Berg, Anne T, Feder, Henry M, Bell, Gillian L, Rys, Paul N, Persing, David H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 17.12.1992
• Subjects: Adult; Amoxicillin - therapeutic use; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Arachnids; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the urinary system; Biological and medical sciences; Bites and Stings - complications; Child; Double-Blind Method; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Lyme disease; Lyme Disease - prevention & control; Male; Medical sciences; Parasites; Risk; Ticks - microbiology; Infection; Human; Prevention; Lyme disease; Antibiotic; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Borrelia infection; Bacteriosis; Controlled therapeutic trial; Spirachaetosis
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199212173272501

LYME disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi , is transmitted by the deer tick, Ixodes dammini , in the northeastern United States. 1 In areas in which the disease is endemic, deer-tick bites are common and can cause tremendous anxiety, but there is uncertainty about how the care of persons who are bitten should be managed. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial to assess the risk of infection with B. burgdorferi after a deer-tick bite and to determine whether antimicrobial prophylaxis is effective in reducing this risk. Methods Enrollment and Randomization of the Subjects From May 1989 through November 1991, . . .