Beware of quack remedies for Lyme Disease

Unproven Lyme disease treatments regularly offered in US

Stephanie Soucheray, MA

Recently in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, researchers from the University of Minnesota reported that many non-traditional clinics for Lyme disease exist in states where the tick-borne disease is endemic, and the treatments offered at such clinics are often unproven and costly and raise safety concerns. 

For the study, the investigators analyzed treatments offered at standalone clinics in 14 states with high Lyme disease prevalence: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

Initial consultation could top $3,000

The authors devised a Google-based search for Lyme clinics in each state and identified 117 clinics. Costs for an initial consultation ranged from $87 to $3,250.

Less than half (53, or 45%) were staffed by a physician with an MD or DO degree. Roughly 20% had a naturopathic doctor on staff, 36 (31%) had an advanced practice provider, and 21 (18%) were staffed by a chiropractor.

Herbs and supplements were the most common treatment offered by the clinics (53 clinics; 45%) followed by non-antibiotic intravenous therapy (26%), unspecified antibiotics (22%), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (15%), and ozone-based therapy (13%).

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was the most expensive treatment ($85 to $6,400), followed by bioresonance therapy ($250 to $2,950) and oligonucleotide therapy ($2,750), the authors said. 

High costs, issues with antibiotics

In addition to high costs, "Some of the therapies we found also expose patients to unnecessary risks," the authors wrote. "For example, non-evidenced-based antibiotic regimens—particularly those that are prolonged or administered intravenously via a central venous catheter—have been associated with life-threatening complications, including fatal cases of catheter-associated bloodstream infections and Clostridioides difficile infection."

Autohemotherapy, which infuses a patient's blood back in to his or her body, also comes with increased risk of bloodstream infections. It is considered a subset of "ozone-based therapy," according to the study authors.

Other less common offerings that come with significant risks are "hyperthermia protocols" and intravenous hydrogen peroxide.

"Our findings suggest that many clinics in the US provide care for Lyme disease that is unproven, potentially risky, and can lead to high out-of-pocket expenditures for patients," the authors concluded.