Tick-borne Encephalitis and Possible Borrelial Serology

Lyme Disease Clinical Trial

Official title:

Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus and Lyme Borreliae Causing Coillness, Coinfection, or Just Coincidence. A Prospective Observational Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03958058
• Other study ID #: TBE-LB observational
• Status: Completed
• Start date: January 1, 2007
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2013

Study information

• Verified date: May 2019
• Source: University Medical Centre Ljubljana
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

In Europe, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus causing TBE is transmitted by the bite of Ixodes ricinus tick, which can also transmit Lyme borreliae , the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB). Since TBE and LB are both endemic with high incidence rates in Slovenia, we should be attentive to the possibility of double infections. Double infections with TBE virus and Lyme borreliae were reported to occur rarely even in endemic countries, however reliable data on coinfection rates are rather limited. Microbiological diagnosis of TBE virus infection is quite straightforward, and there is no specific therapy for TBE available so far. This markedly differs from borrelial infection, in which case interpretation of serological test results demands more caution, but there is highly efficient antibiotic treatment available for LB. This may lead to over prescribing of antibiotics to TBE patients with documented borrelial antibodies in serum indicating possible coinfection with Lyme borreliae, but missing clinical or microbiological criteria for proven borrelial coinfection. Approximately 10% of patients who had been treated appropriately for LB and about one third of patients after TBE report nonspecific subjective complaints, such as fatigue, headache, arthralgia, and myalgia, termed post-Lyme and post-encephalitic symptoms, respectively. These may not be differentiated clearly from nonspecific symptoms occurring with a rather substantial incidence also in the general population. A trend of ascribing medically unexplained nonspecific subjective symptoms to LB in subjects with positive borrelial antibodies in serum puzzles the situation further.

The aim of this prospective observational study was to assess the proportion and clinical implication of proven and possible coinfection with Lyme borreliae in patients with TBE, and to evaluate the association between anti-borrelial antibiotic therapy and clinical outcome in the subgroup of patients with possible coinfection.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 690
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2013
• Est. primary completion date: December 31, 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• age =18 years

• admitted between January 2007 and December 2013 at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia

• tick-borne encephalitis defined according to European criteria (febrile illness with symptoms and/or signs of meningitis or meningoencephalitis, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis (>5 × 106 cells/L), and demonstration of acute TBE virus infection (the presence of specific tick-borne encephalitis virus IgM and IgG antibodies in serum or demonstration of intrathecal production of specific TBE virus IgM and/or IgG antibodies in patients previously vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Lyme borreliosis in the past

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Encephalitis
• Encephalitis, Tick-Borne
• Lyme Disease
• Tick Borne Encephalitis

Intervention

Drug:
• Anti-borrelial antibiotic therapy
Beside symptomatic therapy, patients received oral doxycycline 100 mg (Doxy®) twice daily or ceftriaxone 2 g (Lendacin®) once daily for 14 days. Antibiotic therapy was left to the discretion of treating physicians. Patients reported the presence of nonspecific symptoms such as headache, fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia.

Other:
• No antibiotic.
Patients who received symptomatic therapy (paracetamol, Lekadol®, granisetron, Kytril®, metamizol, Analgin®, parenteral hydration with saline). Patients reported the presence of nonspecific symptoms such as headache, fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Slovenia	University Medical Center Ljubljana	Ljubljana

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University Medical Centre Ljubljana	University of Ljubljana School of Medicine, Slovenia

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Slovenia, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Number of patients with objective manifestations of Lyme borreliosis	At each visit physical examination was performed and clinical signs indicating objective manifestations of Lyme borreliosis, such as erythema migrans, were searched for and documented.	up to 12 months follow-up
Primary	Frequency of nonspecific symptoms such as headache, fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia	At each visit patients were asked to report the presence of nonspecific symptoms.	up to 12 months follow-up