Volume 12, Number 4—April 2006
Research
Economic Impact of Lyme Disease
Table 2
Distribution of Lyme disease (LD) cases* in Maryland Eastern Shore, 1997–2000
Diagnosis group† | No. LD cases (%) from medical record abstraction‡ | No. LD cases (%) from follow-up patient survey§ |
---|---|---|
Early stage | 334 (10) | 59 (21) |
Late stage | 156 (5) | 25 (9) |
Suspected LD | 718 (21) | 54 (19) |
Tick bite | 539 (16) | 62 (22) |
Other | 1,668 (49) | 84 (30) |
Total | 3,415 (100) | 284 (100) |
*LD cases in the study are clinically defined LD cases, which may not fit surveillance definition because the data were collected directly from healthcare organizations and physicians.
†Patients were divided into 5 diagnosis groups: clinically defined early-stage LD, clinically defined late-stage LD, suspected LD, tick bite, and other related complaints.
‡Number of patients (1997–2000) who were identified through records of encounters for LD, tick bites, insect bites, and serologic testing.
§Number of patients (1997–1998) who answered a questionnaire recording indirect medical costs, nonmedical costs, and productivity losses.
1Current affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland, USA