Volume 28, Issue 149, July 2024

Can Lyme disease manifest and progress differently in children? - a review

Kamila Nitka^1♦, Joanna Smorońska-Rypel², Małgorzata Rodak², Magdalena Kajzar², Natalia Piątkowska³, Magdalena Iwan⁴, Błażej Szymczuk⁴, Dominik Trojanowski⁴, Jakub Milczarek⁴, Ksawery Adamiec⁴

¹Medical Center in Łańcut Ltd., 5 Paderewski Street, 37-100 Łańcut, Poland
²Bonifraters Medical Center Ltd., 87 Ks. Leopolda Markiefki Street, 40- 211 Katowice, Poland
³Provincial Hospital in Poznań, 7/19 Juraszów Street, 60-479 Poznań, Poland
⁴Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poniatowskiego 15, 40-055 Katowice, Poland

^♦Corresponding Author
Medical Center in Łańcut Ltd., 5 Paderewski Street, 37-100 Łańcut, Poland

ABSTRACT

One of the most common zoonoses in humans and the most well-known tickborne disease—Lyme disease—affects many body systems. Spirochetes of the genus Borrelia affect the skin, which is the portal of infection, and then the joints, cardiac system, and nervous system, which gives a wide range of symptoms that make up one disease. The study aims to present the state of knowledge about the disease and the differences in its course in children. The pathognomonic symptom is erythema migrans, appearing after a tick bite, but it does not occur in all infected people. Its presence is the basis for diagnosis and initiation of treatment. In the case of the presence of others, the diagnosis should be two-stage and consist of the detection of specific antibodies using the enzyme immunoassay method and the Western blot technique. The disease is widely known and often overdiagnosed due to some non-specific symptoms. The article, through a literature review, discusses issues related to the disease, its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, paying particular attention to the pediatric population. Starting treatment at an early stage (involving the skin) is very important because, in the vast majority of cases, we can prevent disease progression to the disseminated stage and the resulting complications. In younger patients, spirochete infection is not so rare and may have a different clinical course. For this reason, it requires indepth diagnostics, as the symptoms may resemble other childhood diseases.

Keywords: Lyme disease, borreliosis, neuroborreliosis, pediatric population, infectious disease

Medical Science, 2024, 28, e82ms3384

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v28i149.e82ms3384

Published: 29 July 2024