Methods comparison for diagnosis of Lyme disease

Despite the tendency to rely considerably on laboratory test results for the differential diagnosis of Lyme disease, considerable problems exist with such testing. In this article we compare the effectiveness of five main categories of laboratory tests used for the detection of Lyme disease. Our goal is to enable the reader to better understand the limitations of different test methods and to realize that until better tests become available, diagnosis of Lyme disease still must be made clinically. Clinical data, however, can be used to increase the predictive power of any laboratory test as well as to help judge its validity.