Rodríguez GI, Noda RAA, Echevarria PE, Rodríguez BME, Iglesias HTM, Lienhard R

Language: Spanish
References: 0
Page: 3-13
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ABSTRACT

Introduction: Lyme borreliosis has not been officially reported in Cuba but there are clinical-epidemiological suspicions and serological evidence that are suggestive of its causal agent: the infection by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.
Objective: To describe clinical and epidemiological aspects of patients who suffered from the disease and to explore the level of knowledge about it in medical personnel.
Methods: A documentary review of the Diagnostic Records of B. burgdorferi sensu lato infection that are preserved in the National Reference Laboratory of Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine was carried out from 2007 to 2016, and it was combined with an exploratory study of the knowledge´s level about the disease in medical personnel.
Results: There was a slight increase in the number of samples received. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid were the samples chosen for a diagnosis that was performed by enzyme immunoassay. Infection was confirmed in 10.9 % of the serum samples received. Skin lesions, regional lymphadenopathy, facial paralysis, difficulty for walking and others led to the clinical suspicion of this disease. It was predominant the antecedent of insect or tick bites. Seventy percent of the doctors surveyed said they knew about Lyme disease, but only 46 % of them acknowledged at least one of its clinical manifestations.
Conclusions: B. burgdorferi sensu lato infection should be taken into account in patients with symptoms compatible with Lyme disease. Educational interventions are required in the medical personnel for a better clinical recognition of this infectious entity and to promote a better diagnosis.