a. Identify the research question(s)/hypothesis(es) addressed
Berende et al. are doing a random controlled trial to see whether longer-term antibiotic treatment of persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease would lead to additional beneficial effects on health-related quality of life compared with shorter-term treatment.
b. Evaluate the review of related research. How well did the authors provide a context for the current research in light of previous literature and gaps in current literature and knowledge?
Chronic lyme disease was mentioned to have persistent symptoms of pain, fatigue, and neurologic or cognitive disturbances, regardless of prior antibiotic treatments. Four RCT studies were mentioned which analyzed placebo with different …show more content…
The inclusion criteria were patients who had persistent symptoms that were either: temporally related to erythema migrans rash, considered part of a proven case of symptomatic Lyme disease, or had positive serology findings of B. burgdorferi IgG or IgM antibodies. 280 of 281 patients underwent randomization into 3 drug groups, and all received at least one dose of ceftriaxone as part of the 2 week initial treatment regimen. Randomization by computer to accommodate for baseline characteristics. Randomization is good to minimize selection bia and make sure the groups are balanced for a more accurate measure of association between the effects of each drug treatment. An exclusion criteria removed patients that had known or unacceptable side effects from the active study drugs, which is important to not cause unnecessary harm to …show more content…
It only supports the current treatment plan in not treating for chronic lyme disease, as no effective treatment seems to exist in any available study. A future study replicating Berende et al. study, with additional drugs analyzed, as well as having a true placebo group, may affect future clinical practice. For all studies, baseline characteristics have to be accounted for to confirm if they best match the patient’s demographics. Also, a good study for chronic lyme disease would be able to confirm if certain medication is better against certain strains of Borrelia, and if it is applicable to the US population of lyme disease. Lastly, a patient’s personal considerations have to be taken into effect if drugs and compliance is applicable for maximum effectiveness and risks/benefits are accounted
Berende et al. are doing a random controlled trial to see whether longer-term antibiotic treatment of persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease would lead to additional beneficial effects on health-related quality of life compared with shorter-term treatment.
b. Evaluate the review of related research. How well did the authors provide a context for the current research in light of previous literature and gaps in current literature and knowledge?
Chronic lyme disease was mentioned to have persistent symptoms of pain, fatigue, and neurologic or cognitive disturbances, regardless of prior antibiotic treatments. Four RCT studies were mentioned which analyzed placebo with different …show more content…
The inclusion criteria were patients who had persistent symptoms that were either: temporally related to erythema migrans rash, considered part of a proven case of symptomatic Lyme disease, or had positive serology findings of B. burgdorferi IgG or IgM antibodies. 280 of 281 patients underwent randomization into 3 drug groups, and all received at least one dose of ceftriaxone as part of the 2 week initial treatment regimen. Randomization by computer to accommodate for baseline characteristics. Randomization is good to minimize selection bia and make sure the groups are balanced for a more accurate measure of association between the effects of each drug treatment. An exclusion criteria removed patients that had known or unacceptable side effects from the active study drugs, which is important to not cause unnecessary harm to …show more content…
It only supports the current treatment plan in not treating for chronic lyme disease, as no effective treatment seems to exist in any available study. A future study replicating Berende et al. study, with additional drugs analyzed, as well as having a true placebo group, may affect future clinical practice. For all studies, baseline characteristics have to be accounted for to confirm if they best match the patient’s demographics. Also, a good study for chronic lyme disease would be able to confirm if certain medication is better against certain strains of Borrelia, and if it is applicable to the US population of lyme disease. Lastly, a patient’s personal considerations have to be taken into effect if drugs and compliance is applicable for maximum effectiveness and risks/benefits are accounted