Lyme is a defect transmitted by vectors, caused by species Borrelia . A tick that has been infected by this disease transmits it through a bite to human beings. However, not all ticks have this infection. When the condition is not treated, it manifests itself lately and affects the nervous system, joints, and the heart (Pearson 2018). Professionals in the healthcare field in areas mostly affected by the disease have a mandate to create awareness to the visitors visiting such areas. There are specific diagnosis and management points that the health professionals should be conversant with.
Diagnosis
Lyme disease diagnosis is clinical rather than testing in the laboratory for patients suffering from Erythema Migrans (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 2018). Immediate treatment will hinder the disease from progressing, and for patients who have Erythema Migrans , laboratory testing should be combined with a clinical presentation to diagnose and treat them. Serological testing of Lyme depends on detection of how the bacteria respond to antibodies, but this has a limitation during earlier infection stages (Pearson 2018). Tests on patients who take immunosuppressant show results that are falsely negative. However, in such a scenario, the diagnosis should not be ruled out despite the test results being negative. In other cases, results may be false-positive due to cross-reaction or prior infection. Therefore, the examination of tissues histologically is necessary for confirmation of the diagnosis.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Management
Antibiotic treatment is prescribed depending on the symptoms presented by the patient. Patients who have ongoing symptoms should be given an alternative antibiotic for the second course. If the symptoms persist despite administration of two courses of antibiotics that are complete, the patient should be referred to a specialist. Ongoing treatment is prescribed for patients with ongoing symptoms whereby the patients are reassessed, and a prophylactic treatment, which involves a vaccine is administered. The pharmacist and professionals in healthcare should provide advice to people in endemic areas about tick bites, ticks, and Lyme disease.
Conclusion
Lyme disease is transmitted through bites from ticks in highly endemic areas. This disease affects the nervous system, joints, and the heart. The diagnosis of the disease in people with Erythema Migrans does not require laboratory testing, but for people without Erythema Migrans , both laboratory testing and clinical diagnosis are needed. The disease is managed by use of antibiotics, ongoing and prophylactic treatment as well as advice from professionals in healthcare.
References
Pearson, S. (2018). Lyme disease: awareness, diagnosis, and management. The Pharmaceutical Journal.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). (2018) Lyme disease. NICE guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95
