Guidelines for laboratory evaluation in the diagnosis of Lyme disease

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in North America. From 1982 to 1994, more than 70 000 cases were reported in North America, most of them in the United States. It is important that clinicians diagnose Lyme disease correctly because efficacious therapy is available and delayed or inadequate treatment may lead to various morbid sequelae. On the other hand, inappropriate testing and therapy are costly and expose the patient to risk of the adverse effects of administered antibiotics.