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Comparing 3 Antibiotic Regimes for Erythema Migrans in General Practice

Tick Borne Diseases in Norwegian General Practice. A Randomized, Controlled Trial for Treatment of Erythema Migrans in Norwegian General Practice. A Comparison of Phenoxymethylpenicillin, Amoxicillin and Doxycycline.

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01368341
Acronym
NorTick_EM
Enrollment
225
Registered
2011-06-07
Start date
2011-06-30
Completion date
2014-12-31
Last updated
2014-12-12

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

Conditions

Erythema Migrans, Erythema Chronicum Migrans, Borreliosis, Lyme Disease, Early Lyme Disease

Keywords

Antibiotics, General Practice, Erythema migrans, Borrelia, Ticks

Brief summary

Tick borne diseases are increasing in Norway. Lyme borreliosis is the most common infection. Erythema migrans is mainly diagnosed and treated in general practice. There is disagreement about what antibiotic treatment that should be given. An RCT with the three most common antibiotics used, will support data for revision of national guidelines.

Detailed description

Comparison of phenoxymethylpenicillin, doxycycline and amoxicillin for Erythema migrans in Norwegian general practice. Every patient receives 14 days of antibiotic treatment. There are blood samples for measurement of Borrelia antibody level at day 1, 14 and 90 and questionnaires on subjective health complaints (SHC) at day 1, 90 and 360. Side symptoms and side effects are registered. For volunteers there is an additional PCR-analysis on punch biopsy from the EM for subgrouping of the Borrelia bacteria. TBE-antibodies are measured on day 14. Antibody levels and SHC-scores are compared to healthy blood donors.

Interventions

DRUGDoxycycline

1 tablet, 100 mg, b.i.d. 14 days

Tablet 650 mg, 2 tablets, t.i.d., 14 days

DRUGAmoxicillin

Capsula, 500 mg, t.i.d., 14 days

Sponsors

Norwegian Institute of Public Health
CollaboratorOTHER_GOV
Sorlandet Hospital HF
CollaboratorOTHER_GOV
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
CollaboratorOTHER
Morten Lindbaek
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Clinical diagnosis of Erythema migrans * Over the age of 18 * Signing an concent form after information in writing

Exclusion criteria

* Allergic to any of the three drugs in the study * Under the age of 18 * Pregnancy * Dementia or known drug abuse * Antibiotic treatment last 14 days * Concommitant Chemotherapy or immunomodulating therapy * Concommitant use of medicine with potential interaction (defined in protocol)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Duration of Erythema migrans (EM)1-90 daysOn day 1 duration until first the consulation is registered. Day 1-14 the EM is registered in a patient diary. On day 14 the doctor is asked whether the EM has disseapeared. If not the patient is followed by phone from the researchers. On day 90 they are additionally asked for how long it lasted.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Subjective Health Complaints (SHC)1 yearBy questionnaire on day 1, day 90 and day 360 the patients are asked about their SHC which is a standardized set of parametres. The 3 treatment groups are compaired to each other and to 1200 healthy blood donors receiving the same questionnaire. There are 29 standardized and 3 Lyme disease related subjects to be measured.
Borrelia antibodies1-90 daysNormally antibody production is not measured for EM as it is a clinical diagnosis, and less than 50 percent of EM-patients are expected to develop antibodies in the first period. However antibodies are here measured on day 1, day 14 and day 90 to see whether there are differences between the groups. Also the results will be compared to the blood donors.
Side symptoms1-14 daysThe EM in it self is often asymptomatic, and fever, headache and nerval palsy can be a sign of disseminated disease or co-infection. On the quiestionnaire to the pasient and doctor on day 1, in the patient diary day 1-14 and on the questionnaire to the doctor on day 14 these side symptoms are registered. In a potential case, where it turns out that the patient suffers from disseminated disease this will be regostered as treatment failure in the study and the patient treated and/or referred as normal.
Side effects1-14 daysThe antibiotic tretments are expected to be non-inferior to each other. Potensial side effects as nausea, diarrhea etc. are registered in the patients diary day 1-14 and in the doctors quiestionnaire on day 14.
Subgrouping and TBE1-14 daysFor volunteers there is an additional PCR-analysis on punch biopsy from the EM for subgroupring of the Borrelia bacteria. TBE-antibodies are measured on day 14.

Countries

Norway

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 7, 2026