Keith Conover, M.D., FACEP Update June 2015

conovers.org/ftp

Preventio n

Lyme Disease

DNA tests (PCR=polymerase chain reaction) are also available, but not useful, as fragments of dead bacterial DNA may linger long (months, maybe years) after successful treatment, and DNA PCR misses half of acute cases. DNA tests of ticks for Lyme disease are useless. The large urgent care chain MedExpress refuses to send ticks for testing, as insurance won’t pay for such useless tests; people who really want to test their ticks are referred to labs that charge money ($50-$250; search online) up front for the testing. DNA tests (PCR=polymerase chain reaction) are also available, but not useful, as fragments of dead bacterial DNA may linger long (months, maybe years) after successful treatment, and DNA PCR misses half of acute cases. DNA tests of ticks for Lyme disease are useless. The large urgent care chain MedExpress refuses to send ticks for testing, as insurance won’t pay for such useless tests; people who really want to test their ticks are referred to labs that charge money ($50-$250; search online) up front for the testing.

testing of individual ticks is not useful because: If the test shows that the tick contained disease-causing organisms, that does not necessarily mean that you have been infected. If you have been infected, you will probably develop symptoms before results of the tick test are available. You should not wait for tick testing results before beginning appropriate treatment. Negative results can lead to false assurance. For example, you may have been unknowingly bitten by a different tick that was infected. testing of individual ticks is not useful because: If the test shows that the tick contained disease-causing organisms, that does not necessarily mean that you have been infected. If you have been infected, you will probably develop symptoms before results of the tick test are available. You should not wait for tick testing results before beginning appropriate treatment. Negative results can lead to false assurance. For example, you may have been unknowingly bitten by a different tick that was infected.

testing of individual ticks is not useful because: If the test shows that the tick contained disease-causing organisms, that does not necessarily mean that you have been infected. If you have been infected, you will probably develop symptoms before results of the tick test are available. You should not wait for tick testing results before beginning appropriate treatment. Negative results can lead to false assurance. For example, you may have been unknowingly bitten by a different tick that was infected. testing of individual ticks is not useful because: If the test shows that the tick contained disease-causing organisms, that does not necessarily mean that you have been infected. If you have been infected, you will probably develop symptoms before results of the tick test are available. You should not wait for tick testing results before beginning appropriate treatment. Negative results can lead to false assurance. For example, you may have been unknowingly bitten by a different tick that was infected.

conovers.org/ftp