7 years of blood-based testing for tick-borne infections other than Lyme disease

Elizabeth Lee-Lewandrowski, PhD, MPH
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School

This CME is intended to help clinicians decide when to test for tick-borne infections, based on symptoms, geographic location, timing, and organism infection rates. Content for this free course was compiled by a team of pathologists, clinicians, and informaticists who analyzed Quest Laboratories’ U.S. patient data from 2010 to 2016, along with CDC tick-borne disease case reports. This concise, data-driven overview will help clinicians quickly decide which tests to order after a tick-bite, potentially speeding up treatment decisions and saving lives.

This session, 7 years of blood-based testing for tick-borne infections other than Lyme disease, is approved for 0.5 enduring AAFP Prescribed credits.

AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.

The AAFP has reviewed One Health Medical Education for a Changing Climate, and deemed it acceptable for AAFP credit. Term of approval is from 01/02/2023 to 01/01/2024. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Learning objectives:

1. Learners will be able to describe the most common non-Lyme tick-borne illnesses
2. Learners will be able to describe the relative frequency of non-Lyme tick-borne illnesses reported to the CDC  
3. Learners will be able to understand the potential role of reference laboratory data to monitor tick-borne diseases
4. Learners will have increased awareness of the most appropriate laboratory tests for non-Lyme tick-borne illnesses.

Evidence-based bibliography for further study

• https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases

• Elizabeth Lee-Lewandrowski, PhD, MPH, Zhen Chen, MS, John Branda, MD, Jason Baron, MD, Harvey W Kaufman, MD, Laboratory Blood-Based Testing for Non-Lyme Disease Tick-Borne Infections at a National Reference Laboratory: A Seven-Year Experience, American Journal of Clinical Pathology, Volume 153, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 139–145, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqz139.