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PLEASE Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe. A prospective, randomised study comparing two prolonged oral antibiotic strategies after initial intravenous ceftriaxone therapy for patients with symptoms of proven or possible persistent Lyme disease - PLEASE

PLEASE Persistent Lyme Empiric Antibiotic Study Europe. A prospective, randomised study comparing two prolonged oral antibiotic strategies after initial intravenous ceftriaxone therapy for patients with symptoms of proven or possible persistent Lyme disease - PLEASE

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
EU CTR
Registry ID
EUCTR2009-010939-40-NL
Enrollment
270
Registered
2009-07-20
Start date
2010-04-29
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2021-12-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Persistent Lyme disease Persistent borreliosis MedDRA version: 12.0 Level: LLT Classification code 10025169 Term: Lyme disease MedDRA version: 12.0 Level: LLT Classification code 10025170 Term: Lyme's disease MedDRA version: 12.0 Level: LLT Classification code 10067559 Term: Lyme borreliosis MedDRA version: 12.0 Level: LLT Classification code 10006036 Term: Borrelia burgdorferi infection MedDRA version: 12.0 Level: LLT Classification code 10061591 Term: Borrelia infection

Interventions

Trade Name: Ceftriaxon Product Name: Ceftriaxon Pharmaceutical Form: Solution for infusion CAS Number: 74578-69-1 Other descriptive name: CEFTRIAXONE SODIUM Concentration unit: g gram(s) Concentration

Sponsors

UMCN St Radboud
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: a. Males or non-pregnant, non-lactating females who are 18 years or older. b. Women of child-bearing potential must agree to use contraception methods other than oral contraceptives during the study therapy period, since failure of oral contraceptives due to long-term antibiotic use has been described and doxycycline might be teratogenic. c. Patients with presumed or proven PLD. In this study, clinical suspicion of PLD is defined as complaints of musculoskeletal pain, arthritis or arthralgia, neuralgia, neuropsychological or cognitive disorders, and persistent fatigue, that are: (a) temporally related to an episode of erythema migrans or otherwise proven symptomatic Lyme disease (defined as within 4 months after erythema migrans as assessed by a physician, or positive biopsy, PCR, culture, intrathecal B. burgdorferi antibodies), OR (b) accompanied by a positive B. burgdorferi IgG or IgM immunoblot (as defined by strict criteria in line with the European Union Concerted Action on Lyme Borreliosis (EUCALB); regardless of prior ELISA IgG/IgM screening results. d. Subjects must sign a written informed consent form. Are the trial subjects under 18? no Number of subjects for this age range: F.1.2 Adults (18-64 years) yes F.1.2.1 Number of subjects for this age range F.1.3 Elderly (>=65 years) yes F.1.3.1 Number of subjects for this age range

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: a. Subjects with a known history of allergy or intolerance to tetracyclines, macrolides, hydroxychloroquine or ceftriaxone. b. Subjects who have had more than 5 days of antimicrobial therapy with activity against B. burgdorferi within the previous 4 weeks. c. Subjects with a presumed diagnosis of neuroborreliosis (CSF pleiocytosis or intrathecal antibody production) for which intravenous antimicrobial therapy is required. d. Subjects with a known diagnosis of HIV-seropositivity or other immune disorders. (No HIV serologic testing is required for the study). e. Subjects with positive syphilis serology or signs of other spirochetal diseases. f. Subjects with moderate or severe liver disease defined as alkaline phosphatase, ALAT, or ASAT greater than 3 times upper limit of normal. g. Subjects who are receiving and cannot discontinue cisapride, astemizole, terfenadine, barbiturates, phenytoin, or carbamazepine (The concentrations of these drugs may increase during claritromycin therapy and/or lead to reduced availability of doxycycline). h. Subjects who are currently enrolled on other investigational drug trials or receiving investigational agents. i. Subjects who have been previously randomized into this study. j. Severe physical or psychiatric co-morbidity that interferes with participation in the study protocol, including previous medical diagnosis of rheumatic conditions, chronic fatigue syndrome or chronic pain conditions as well as insufficient command of the Dutch language.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Main Objective: The primary goal of the study is to establish whether prolonged antibiotic treatment of patients diagnosed with presumed persistent Lyme disease (as endorsed by the international ILADS guidelines) is efficient and leads to better patient outcome than short-term treatment as endorsed by the Dutch CBO guidelines.;Secondary Objective: Secondary objectives will be studied in an explorative way. The secondary goals include the effect of randomised treatment modalities on physical functioning, psychological functioning, social behaviour, cognitive functioning, and safety. Moreover, cost-effectiveness will be determined by assessment of costs from societal perspective and quality-adjusted life years;Primary end point(s): The primary endpoint is defined as mean functional impairment and pain scores, as measured by the physical functioning scale of the 36-item Short-form General Health Survey (SF 36) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) at EOT (week 14).

Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results

None listed

Source: EU CTR (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026