Table 1 Comparison of the characteristics of the satisfied and dissatisfied patients with their management at the TBD-RC and of the patients who accepted or not their diagnosis
Characteristics of the patients | Total N = 349 (%) | Satisfied patients N = 297 (%) | Dissatisfied patients N = 52 (%) | p-value | Diagnostic acceptance N = 280 (%) | No Diagnostic acceptance N = 69 (%) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age, (years), median [IQR] | 48 [35,62] | 49 [35, 62] | 42.5 [33,58] | 0.393 | 48 [34,62] | 48 [37,60] | 0.558 |
Male | 146 (41.8) | 122 (41.1) | 24 (46.2) | 0.494 | 117 (41.8) | 29 (42.0) | 0.971 |
Lifestyle | 0.676 | 0.708 | |||||
Home in a rural area | 72 (20.6) | 62 (20.9) | 10 (19.2) | 56 (20.0) | 16 (23.2) | ||
Employment in rural areas/forest | 17 (4.9) | 14 (4.7) | 3 (5.8) | 15 (5.4) | 2 (2.9) | ||
Forest-based leisure activities | 249 (71.4) | 213 (71.7) | 36 (69.2) | 201 (71.8) | 48 (69.6) | ||
No exposure | 11 (3.2) | 8 (2.7) | 3 (5.8) | 8 (2.9) | 3 (4.4) | ||
Past history of tick bite | 234 (67.1) | 201 (67.7) | 33 (63.5) | 0.551 | 189 (67.5) | 45 (65.2) | 0.718 |
Past history of erythema migrans | 97 (27.9) | 90 (30.3) | 7 (13.7) | 0.015 | 82 (29.3) | 15 (22.1) | 0.233 |
Patients referred by a physician with a letter | 313 (89.7) | 264 (88.9) | 49 (94.2) | 0.218 | 250 (89.3) | 63 (91.3) | 0.015 |
General Practitioner | 241 (69.1) | 200 (67.3) | 41 (78.9) | 183 (65.4) | 58 (84.1) | ||
Specialist physician | 59 (16.9) | 51 (17.2) | 8 (15.4) | 55 (19.6) | 4 (5.8) | ||
Emergency unit physician | 13 (3.7) | 13 (4.4) | 0 (0.0) | 12 (4.3) | 1 (1.5) | ||
No letter, patient self-referral | 36 (10.3) | 33 (11.1) | 3 (5.8) | 30 (10.7) | 6 (8.7) | ||
Duration (days) of chief complaints prior to consultation at TBD-RC, median [IQ 25,75] | 425.5 [140.5, 1208.5] | 416 [133, 1155] | 804 [230, 1679] | 0.021 | 382 [128, 1174] | 561 [249, 1437] | 0.017 |
Positive serological test* | 111 (31.8) | 98 (33.0) | 13 (25.0) | 0.118 | 91 (32.5) | 20 (28.9) | 0.869 |
Final diagnosis at TBD-RC | 0.016 | 0.007 | |||||
Confirmed LB | 48 | 47 (15.8) | 1 (1.9) | 47 (16.8) | 1 (1.5) | ||
Possible LB | 31 | 29 (9.8) | 2 (3.9) | 24 (8.6) | 7 (10.1) | ||
PTLDS/sequelae | 34 | 27 (9.1) | 7 (13.5) | 24 (8.6) | 10 (14.5) | ||
Other diagnoses | 236 | 194 (65.3) | 42 (80.8) | 185 (66.1) | 51 (74.0) | ||
Antibiotic therapy prescribed before TBD-RC | 228 (65.3) | 192 (64.7) | 36 (69.2) | 0.522 | 179 (63.9) | 49 (71.0) | 0.268 |
Antibiotic therapy > 4 weeks | 71 (20.3) | 55 (18.5) | 16 (30.8) | 0.043 | 49 (17.5) | 22 (31.9) | 0.008 |
Non-recommended treatments ** | 61 (17.5) | 47 (15.8) | 14 (26.9) | 0.052 | 43 (15.4) | 18 (26.1) | 0.036 |