Towards shortening the duration of antibiotic therapy for Lyme borreliosis: a systematic review and meta-analysisShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Infection. Zeitschrift für Klinik und Therapie der Infektionen, ISSN 0300-8126, E-ISSN 1439-0973, Vol. 53, no 3, p. 809-830Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Objectives Systematic review and meta-analysis on shortening antibiotic therapy for Lyme borreliosis (LB) patients. Methods Data sources: Medline, Google, and Google Scholar (queried from January 2022-February 2024), following the PRISMA method and the Cochrane Handbook. Eligibility criteria: Randomized clinical trials, comparative studies; clear definitions of LB, duration of antibiotics and outcome; follow-up >= 6-12 months. Meta-analysis included studies that examined three outcomes: treatment failure; residual symptoms; adverse events. Intervention: Short vs. extended antibiotic therapy for erythema migrans (<= 10 days vs. > 10 days) and disseminated LB (<= 21 days vs. > 21 days). Assessment of risk of bias. Independently, using the Cochrane Tools. Methods of data synthesis. Estimation of treatment effects based on a fixed-effect model (Mantel-Haenszel or Peto method), with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Thirty-eight full-text articles were examined (850 patients): 29 were included in the qualitative analysis; six in the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was low (I2 = 0%). At 12 months, short-term treatment did not differ from long-term treatment in terms of failures (OR1.50, 95%CI[0.43-5.22]) and residual symptoms (OR0.95, 95%CI[0.66-1.37]), albeit with small samples. Conclusion This meta-analysis was underpowered to prove non-inferiority of shorter treatment, but suggests its safety for EM. Studies focusing on antibiotics duration, with sufficient sample sizes and clear outcomes, are warranted.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG , 2025. Vol. 53, no 3, p. 809-830
Keywords [en]
Lyme borreliosis; Treatment duration; Outcomes; Meta-analysis; Systematic review
National Category
Infectious Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-213282DOI: 10.1007/s15010-025-02501-3ISI: 001470074400001PubMedID: 40246800Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105003399690OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-213282DiVA, id: diva2:1954936
Note
Funding Agencies|French Infectious Diseases Society (SPILF)
2025-04-282025-04-282025-10-28Bibliographically approved