Open Forum Infectious Diseases published an article detailing the case of the first patient with Lyme disease related to prosthetic joint infection and arthritis, according to a Medscape report.
Here are five insights:
1. The patient, a 67-year-olf man suffering from degenerative arthritis, underwent a uni-compartmental joint arthroplasty on his left knee in November 2014.
2. In August 2015, he began to experience pain and swelling in his knee.
3. The man lived in a Lyme endemic region of the United States. While he participated in outdoor activities, he did not report a history of tick bite or rash.
4. Arthritis can arise six to 12 months after being infected with tick-borne bacterial pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi. Borrelia burgdorferi DNA was detected in the patient. This, along with other factors, supported the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection. Further testing showed the patient had contracted Lyme arthritis.
5. The patient was treated "empirically with oral doxycycline but was then switched to intravenous ceftriaxone once laboratory testing results became available. The patient's left knee pain and swelling resolved without surgical drainage," noted Medscape.
"Early prompt diagnosis and adequate antimicrobial therapy may obviate the need for additional aggressive orthopedic surgical intervention," the study authors noted, according to Medscape.