Seroprevalence of Lyme Disease in Children With Facial Nerve Palsy

Bethany Murphy, Julissa Veras, Sindhura Kolli, Brielle Formanowski, Patricia Greenberg, Lawrence Kleinman, Amisha Malhotra, Vikram Bhise

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This retrospective chart review examined children with documented Lyme disease serology in New Jersey aged <21 years presenting with facial nerve palsy. The presence of symptoms including tick bite, fever, headache, and arthritis was recorded. Data were categorized based on demographic factors, and multivariate regression was employed. We enrolled 122 children, 54% female (mean age of 11.4 ± 5.1 years); 22.1% had Lyme disease. Fever was a significant predictor of Lyme disease (P =.01), confirmed by multivariate regression (odds ratio [OR] = 16.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.04, 366.14), as was male gender (P =.01, OR = 3.68, 95% CI = 1.21, 12.89). This association held especially true in Lyme-endemic regions (prevalence ≥ 0.35). The combination of headache with fever was also significantly predictive (P =.01). We found no significant predictive value in the remaining symptoms. These findings suggest that clinical predictors may be useful in diagnosing Lyme disease and initiating early empiric treatment.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Child Neurology
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • children
  • epidemiology
  • meningitis
  • pediatric

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Seroprevalence of Lyme Disease in Children With Facial Nerve Palsy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this