Dataset Information

Effect of prolonged antibiotic treatment on cognition in patients with Lyme borreliosis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate whether longer-term antibiotic treatment improves cognitive performance in patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis.

Methods

Data were collected during the Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe (PLEASE) trial, a randomized, placebo-controlled study. Study participants passed performance-validity testing (measure for detecting suboptimal effort) and had persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis. All patients received a 2-week open-label regimen of intravenous ceftriaxone before the 12-week blinded oral regimen (doxycycline, clarithromycin/hydroxychloroquine, or placebo). Cognitive performance was assessed at baseline and after 14, 26, and 40 weeks with neuropsychological tests covering the cognitive domains of episodic memory, attention/working memory, verbal fluency, speed of information processing, and executive function.

Results

Baseline characteristics of patients enrolled (n = 239) were comparable in all treatment groups. After 14 weeks, performance on none of the cognitive domains differed significantly between the treatment arms (p = 0.49-0.82). At follow-up, no additional treatment effect (p = 0.35-0.98) or difference between groups (p = 0.37-0.93) was found at any time point. Patients performed significantly better in several cognitive domains at weeks 14, 26, and 40 compared to baseline, but this was not specific to a treatment group.

Conclusions

A 2-week treatment with ceftriaxone followed by a 12-week regimen of doxycycline or clarithromycin/hydroxychloroquine did not lead to better cognitive performance compared to a 2-week regimen of ceftriaxone in patients with Lyme disease-attributed persistent symptoms.

Clinicaltrialsgov identifier

NCT01207739.

Classification of evidence

This study provides Class II evidence that longer-term antibiotics in patients with borreliosis-attributed persistent symptoms does not increase cognitive performance compared to shorter-term antibiotics.

SUBMITTER: Berende A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6453770 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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