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Neuro-ophthalmic Manifestations of Pediatric Lyme Disease

The Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus (Silverstein M., et al.) 10.25.2023, published “Yearly Occurrence and Seasonality of Neuro-ophthalmic Manifestations of Pediatric Lyme Disease.” This article reviews the manifestation of visual problems related to the nervous system in relation to Lyme disease in at a central Ohio pediatric tertiary care center.

They looked at kids who had Lyme disease between 2015 and 2020. Out of 212 cases, 50 kids had Lyme affecting their nervous system. They noticed more cases in 2018 to 2020, mostly in summer. Twenty-four kids had brain swelling (meningitis), and 6 of them (25%) had swelling in their optic nerve, which can cause vision problems.

Their conclusion suggests that this kind of vision problem might be more common with Lyme disease in this area than people thought. They recommend checking the pressure in the brain if Lyme meningitis is suspected and getting an eye check if the pressure is high to look for optic nerve swelling.


For more information:

Read the full article on the SLACK Journals website here.

Read more On Lyme & the Eye from Williams Padula’s Blog on LDA’s website here.