Anyone heard of an MD prescribing IV abx for Lyme rash?

[Ricobord]

I saw this quote today in an article about a doctor speaking at a pediatric infectious disease conference.  The article is at
http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/child-adolescent-medicine/single-article/lyme-disease-avoiding-inappropriate-serologic-testing/841bf9c30e90399a2d239e525b2993d5.html?tx_ttnews%5BsViewPointer%5D=1

She follows the party line on when to test for Lyme (only when there are "subjective symptoms") and quotes Allen Steere's study that the test has 100% sensitivity after the early stage. (Never mind that you had to pass the test before you could get in to that study, which resulted in the exclusion of anyone with Lyme who didn't test "positive".)

Then she describes the appropriate medications to use in early Lyme (when there is an erythema migrans), and says that IV ceftriaxone (Rocephin) is not appropriate at this stage.  Then she is quoted saying...

"You might be thinking, ‘Who in the world would use IV [intravenous] ceftriaxone for erythema migrans?’ but it happens all the time. In high-incidence areas for Lyme disease, we have lots of people who call themselves Lyme specialists who set up shop and put ads in the phone book. Patients who don’t know any better go to them and can get very dangerous treatments," Dr. DeBiasi explained.

So, I have never heard of a doctor prescribing Rocephin for early Lyme Disease. I am not in a highly endemic area, so I thought I would ask if anyone who does has heard of this.  Is this true, or is this just rumor mongerimg?  Has anyone else ever heard of this?  Does anyone even use a phone book anymore?

A side note: this is the first time I have heard of Rocephin as "very dangerous." She makes it sound like chemo or something. Do they use this phrase for IV abx for any other disease?

[Ricobord]

I believe the first choice at this point is doxycycline, with an alternative of amoxicillin for those who shouldn't take doxy.  I think Ceftin is sometimes used with later stages.

I took a week of Augmentin 875, a fairly strong penicillin, when I got my initial onset. I didn't know what I had, but I felt a whole lot better with the meds and seemed to recover.  Of course that was insufficient... If I had taken a month's worth, I probably would have been okay.

My Lyme is obviously sensitive to penicillins, as I have been progressing well on Bicillin shots.  For some others, penicillins just don't seem to work well.

[gibsongal]

no but here at rx list they say for early Lyme

"In Clinical Trials for Early Lyme Disease With 20 Days Dosing
Two multicenter trials assessed cefuroxime axetil tablets 500 mg twice a day for 20 days. The most common drug-related adverse experiences were diarrhea (10.6% of patients), Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction (5.6%), and vaginitis (5.4%). Other adverse experiences occurred with frequencies comparable to those reported with 7 to 10 days dosing."