Retrospective validation of a rapid Lyme fluorescent immunoassay in differentiating Lyme arthritis from other musculoskeletal presentations in children in a Lyme-endemic region

TL;DR

A rapid test for Lyme arthritis in children was validated, offering quick and accurate results to help avoid unnecessary treatments.

Contribution

The study retrospectively validated a rapid fluorescent immunoassay for diagnosing Lyme arthritis in children.

Findings

The Sofia IgG test demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 96.4% specificity in identifying Lyme arthritis in children.

The test has a high positive likelihood ratio (27.5) and a near-zero negative likelihood ratio (0.00).

The test could help differentiate Lyme arthritis from other musculoskeletal conditions in Lyme-endemic regions.

Abstract

Lyme arthritis can present similarly to other causes of joint pain and swelling including septic arthritis and other acute and chronic arthropathies of childhood. Septic arthritis, although rare, constitutes an orthopedic emergency and requires early surgical intervention to reduce the risk of permanent joint damage. Currently, results of standard serologic tests to diagnose Lyme disease take days to weeks, which is unhelpful in acute clinical decision-making. Thus, some children with Lyme arthritis are treated empirically for septic arthritis undergoing unnecessary invasive procedures and hospital admission while on inappropriate antibiotic therapy. We retrospectively validated the Quidel Sofia Lyme Fluorescent Immunoassay, a rapid serologic assay that can detect IgG and/or IgM antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in 10 minutes, in residual serum samples collected from 51 children who had Lyme arthritis and 55 children with musculoskeletal presentations who were Lyme negative. The sensitivity and specificity of the Sofia IgG to identify cases of Lyme arthritis in children were 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] of 93.0%–100%) and 96.4% (95% CI: 87.5%–99.6%), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio (LR) was 27.5 (95% CI 7–107), and the negative LR was 0.00 (95% LR 0.00–0.15). We propose that the Sofia IgG, a rapid method for identifying Lyme arthritis, may be useful in differentiating Lyme arthritis from other forms of arthritis. Used in conjunction with readily available clinical and laboratory variables, it could help to rapidly identify children who are at low risk of septic arthritis in Lyme-endemic regions.

Lyme arthritis is a common manifestation of Lyme disease in children, with clinical features overlapping with other causes of acute and chronic joint pain/swelling in children. We have demonstrated that the Sofia IgG is a reliable test to rule in and rule out the diagnosis of Lyme arthritis in children with musculoskeletal presentations in a Lyme-endemic region. When used in conjunction with clinical and laboratory variables routinely considered when differentiating Lyme arthritis from other diagnoses, the Sofia IgG has the potential to fill an important gap in care, especially when acute decision-making is necessary. The Sofia IgG should be included in prospective research studies examining clinical prediction tools to identify children at low risk of septic arthritis.