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Complications

By Mayo Clinic staff

Left untreated, Lyme disease can cause:

  • Chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), particularly of the knee
  • Neurological symptoms, such as facial palsy and neuropathy
  • Cognitive defects, such as impaired memory
  • Heart rhythm irregularities
References
  1. Hu L. Treatment of Lyme disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2010.
  2. Hu L. Clinical manifestations of Lyme disease in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2010.
  3. Lyme disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm. Accessed March 24, 2010.
  4. FDA warns consumers and health care providers not to use bismacine, also known as chromacine. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm150503.htm. Accessed March 29, 2010.
  5. Wormser GP, et al. The clinical assessment, treatment and prevention of Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis and babesiosis: Clinical practice guidelines. Infectious Disease Society of America. 2006;43:1089.
  6. Lyme disease. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/lymeDisease/understanding/. Accessed March 25, 2010.
  7. Lyme disease: The facts, the challenge. www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/lymeDisease/PDF/LymeDisease.pdf. Accessed March 29, 2010.
DS00116 Feb. 16, 2011

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