Table 1 Comparison of the characteristics of the four groups of patients who answered the satisfaction questionnaire
Characteristics of the patients | Total N = 349 (%) | Confirmed LB N = 48 (%) | Possible LB N = 31 (%) | PTLDS or sequelae N = 34 (%) | Other diagnoses N = 236 (%) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age, (years), median [IQR] | 48 [35,62] | 48 [35,62] | 49 [35,62] | 48 [35,62] | 48 [35,61] | 0.242 |
Male | 146 (41.8) | 30 (62.5) | 16 (51.6) | 9 (26.5) | 91 (38.6) | 0.003 |
Lifestyle | 0.287 | |||||
Home in a rural area | 72 (20.6) | 6 (12.5) | 10 (32.3) | 7 (20.6) | 49 (20.8) | - |
Employment in rural areas/forest | 17 (4.9) | 2 (4.2) | 1 (3.2) | 0 (0.0) | 14 (5.9) | - |
Forest-based leisure activities | 249 (71.4) | 40 (83.3) | 20 (64.5) | 26 (76.5) | 163 (69.1) | - |
No exposure | 11 (3.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.9) | 10 (4.2) | - |
Past history of tick-bite | 234 (67.1) | 40 (83.3) | 25 (80.7) | 28 (82.4) | 141 (59.8) | 0.001 |
Past history of erythema migrans | 97 (27.9) | 29 (60.4) | 11 (35.5) | 16 (48.5) | 41 (17.4) | < 0.001 |
Patients referred by a physician with a letter | 313 (89.7) | 46 (95.8) | 30 (96.8) | 30 (88.2) | 207 (87.7) | 0.108 |
General Practitioner | 241 (69.1) | 31 (64.6) | 26 (83.9) | 26 (76.5) | 158 (67.0) | |
Specialist physician | 59 (16.9) | 11 (22.9) | 2 (6.5) | 4 (11.8) | 42 (17.8) | |
Emergency unit physician | 13 (3.7) | 4 (8.3) | 2 (6.5) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (3.0) | |
No letter, patient self-referral | 36 (10.3) | 2 (4.2) | 1 (3.2) | 4 (11.8) | 29 (12.3) | |
Duration (days) of chief complaints prior to consultation at TBD-RC, median [IQ 25,75] | 425.5 [140.5, 1208.5] | 406.5 [135, 1171] | 422 [139, 1191] | 425.5 [144, 1208.5] | 532.5 [167.5, 1456.5] | < 0.001 |
Patient's chief complaint | < 0.001 | |||||
Erythema migrans | 10 (2.9) | 6 (12.5) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (2.9) | 3 (1.3) | |
Clinical signs/symptoms evoking early disseminated LB (< 6 months) | 100 (28.7) | 27 (56.3) | 12 (38.7) | 10 (29.4) | 51 (21.6) | |
Clinical signs/symptoms evoking late disseminated LB (> 6 months) | 232 (66.5) | 15 (31.3) | 19 (61.3) | 23 (67.7) | 175 (74.2) | |
Questions after a tick-bite | 4 (1.2) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (1.7) | |
Positive serological test with no clinical signs | 3 (0.9) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (1.3) | |
Serological test | < 0.001 | |||||
IgM and/or IgG positive in ELISA and WB | 111 (31.8) | 33 (68.8) | 12 (38.7) | 19 (55.9) | 47 (19.9) | |
IgG positive in ELISA only | 46 (13.2) | 5 (10.4) | 8 (25.8) | 5 (14.7) | 28 (11.9) | |
IgM and IgG negative in ELISA | 163 (46.7) | 7 (14.6) | 11 (35.5) | 10 (29.4) | 135 (57.2) | |
No serology (suspicion of erythema migrans) | 26 (7.5) | 3 (6.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 23 (9.8) | |
Antibiotic therapy prescribed before TBD-RC | 228 (65.3) | 36 (75.0) | 16 (51.6) | 34 (100.0) | 142 (60.2) | < 0.001 |
Antibiotic therapy > 4 weeks | 71 (20.3) | 12 (25.0) | 2 (6.5) | 14 (41.2) | 43 (18.2) | 0.003 |
Non-recommended treatments (> 8 weeks of antibiotics and/or associated antimicrobials) | 61 (17.5) | 6 (12.5) | 0 (0.0) | 10 (29.4) | 45 (19.1) | 0.011 |