Errors in Diagnostic Test Use and Interpretation Contribute to the High Number of Lyme Disease Referrals in a Low-Incidence State

Ross M Boyce; Carly Speight; Jessica T Lin; Claire E Farel

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa009

Errors in Diagnostic Test Use and Interpretation Contribute to the High Number of Lyme Disease Referrals in a Low-Incidence State

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Jan 11;7(1):ofaa009. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa009. eCollection 2020 Jan.

Authors

Ross M Boyce¹, Carly Speight², Jessica T Lin¹, Claire E Farel¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
² Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

Abstract

Lyme disease accounted for more than two-thirds (56 of 81, 69.1%) of all tick-borne disease referrals to a large, academic infectious diseases clinic in a low-incidence state. Deviations from diagnostic testing guidelines and errors in test interpretation were common (23 of 35, 65.7%), suggesting that frontline providers need additional clinical support.

Keywords: diagnostic testing; Lyme disease; referrals; tick-borne disease.

Abstract

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