DL-988: The Great Imposter – Lyme Disease, 2 CE

Martha Kunkel, BS, CLS - Retired, UCD Medical Center - Sacramento, CA Judy Davis, MA, CLS - Retired - UCD Medical Center - Sacramento, CA Approved for 2.0 CE Level of Difficulty: Intermediate CAMLT is approved by the California Department of Public Health as a CA CLS Accrediting Agency (#21) Tick-borne diseases are poorly understood and often misdiagnosed. Lyme disease has been studied extensively and is the best known. However, there are a growing number of diseases that have been associated with tick bites. Although Lyme disease was originally discovered in the Northeastern part of the United States, tick-borne diseases have been identified in all 50 states with all but two counties in California being infested. Many patients have had more than one organism identified from a single tick bite. Treatment for these diseases is highly controversial. Within the infectious disease community, most physicians adhere to the very strict Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for diagnosis and treatment (1). However, there are a growing number of primary care physicians who have found a wider variety of treatment options and testing modalities to be necessary to treat their patients (2). These organisms and their resultant diseases continue to elude diagnosis with many patients going months or years without a diagnosis. This course is a case-study approach to Lyme disease.