IDSA agrees to re-examine chronic Lyme disease guidelines

HARTFORD, Conn. The Infectious Diseases Society of America has agreed to review its guidelines, which say there’s no evidence long-term antibiotics can cure “chronic” Lyme disease—or even that such a condition exists, according to the Washington Post.

The agreement, announced Thursday, calls for the doctors group to form a new panel of experts to review standards for treating Lyme disease. The IDSA says it agreed to the deal in part because the panel must be made up of doctors and scientists.

Lyme disease can be hard to diagnose with its vague, flu-like symptoms; the most obvious sign is its trademark round red rash. Usually, it’s easily cured with a few weeks of antibiotics. Those not promptly treated can develop arthritis, meningitis and other serious illnesses.

The IDSA says it’s never been proven whether these patients still have Lyme disease or something else. The group continues to defend its standards, which say short-term antibiotics are effective for nearly all patients. Long-term antibiotics are unproven and potentially dangerous, because overuse of the drugs can lead to drug-resistant infections, the society says.

“We are confident that our guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease represent the best advice that medicine currently has to offer ... and we look forward to the opportunity to put to rest any questions about them,” said Donald Poretz, the society’s president.

The society will consider a variety of scientific evidence and determine whether the 2006 guidelines are justified or need revision.

The guidelines are important because they discourage adequate treatment, advocates of chronic Lyme sufferers say. Perhaps just as significant is that insurance companies refuse to pay for long-term antibiotics to treat chronic Lyme disease because they follow the panel’s guidelines.

The doctors group makes clear that current guidance for treating Lyme disease remains in place.