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Evaluation of the clinical relevance of vancomycin for the treatment of Lyme disease

  • Lyme Borreliosis
  • Published:
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Summary

Vancomycin is active in vitro and in vivo in mouse systems against Lyme disease borrelia; however, there are no published data on the efficacy of vancomycin in patients with Lyme disease and no convincing theoretical advantages of vancomycin over the currently used and highly effective orally administered antimicrobial agents, including doxycycline, amoxicillin and cefuroxime axetil. In addition, vancomycin may cause a wide variety of potentially serious adverse effects and requires the placement of an intravenous catheter. It is concluded that vancomycin is a much less attractive option for the treatment of patients with early Lyme disease (or any other manifestation of Lyme disease), compared with the antimicrobials currently being used. Based on available evidence, clinical studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vancomycin for Lyme disease cannot be recommended.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Lisa Giarratano for assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, 40 Sunshine Cottage Road, Skyline Office #2N-F05, 10595, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Gary P. Wormser M.D.

  2. Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine, 92697, Irvine, CA, USA

    Alan G. Barbour M.D.

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  1. Gary P. Wormser M.D.
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Correspondence to Gary P. Wormser M.D..

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Conflict of interest

G.P. Wormser reports receiving research grants from Immunetics, Inc., Institute for Systems Biology, Rarecyte, Inc., and Quidel Corporation. He owns equity in Abbott/AbbVie; has been an expert witness in malpractice cases involving Lyme disease; and is an uncompensated board member of the American Lyme Disease Foundation. A.G. Barbour reports current receipt of research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, receipt of patent licensing royalties from the University of California for co-inventorship of a method for Lyme disease diagnostic testing, and uncompensated board membership of the American Lyme Disease Foundation.

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Wormser, G.P., Barbour, A.G. Evaluation of the clinical relevance of vancomycin for the treatment of Lyme disease. Wien Klin Wochenschr 135, 185–189 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-019-1505-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-019-1505-6

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