Lyme disease

Abstract

Lyme disease (Borreliosis), also called the "disease of 1000 faces", is produced by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by the Ixodes tick. The clinical picture is non-specific and polymorph, with multisystemic involvement. Diagnosis is most often one of exclusion, and certain diagnosis is based on the presence of Borellia antibodies. The treatment is done differently depending on the stage of the disease and the severity of injuries, being used antibiotics like Doxycycline, Amoxicillin, Erythromycin or Penicillin. Under treatment the disease quickly heals without sequel, in the early stages, but advanced stages are usually resistant to treatment and chronic injuries can occur. Symptoms get worse without treatment and become chronic. We present the case of a woman of 66-year-old with a complex history of disease, which began one year prior to admission, through multiple and nonspecific symptoms; she presented herself in numerous medical services (gastroenterology, rheumatology--where an immunosuppressive treatment was initiated, hematology) without determining a final diagnosis. She was admitted in our service with altered general state and worsening symptoms, predominantly fever, muscle pain, joint pain, the patient being immobilized in bed. After multiple investigations and the problem of differential diagnosis with multiple pathologies, we finally established the diagnosis of Lyme disease. The peculiarities of the case are represented by the severity of the clinical manifestations and fulminant disease evolution under the unjustified administration of immunosuppressive treatment, and atypical joint involvement regarding localization and evolution that raised the issue of differential diagnosis with osteosarcoma or bone tuberculosis.