Thursday, January 16, 2014

Knee and Lyme Disease


In the summer, I was hiking and later developed a swollen knee. I was treated for Lyme but never got better. My left knee is still swollen. Any suggestions?

The first thing I would do is get all the medical records. Whenever a young adult patient presents with a swollen knee, there are two disorders that physicians must consider- Lyme and gonorrhea. There are other causes of a swollen knee like septic arthritis, osteoarthritis etc, but the above two need to be ruled out.

In any case, No joint disorder should be treated empirically without first aspirating the joint and analyzing the fluid. This is malpractice and gross negligence. I suggest you go and see a bona fide rheumatologist and get your knee reassessed. If you failed to respond to Lyme disease treatment and your knee is swollen, you may have something else. X-rays will reveal presence of any joint damage. I would also highly recommend a good malpractice lawyer if your knee was never aspirated.

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