Abstract 1033
Poster Session IV, Tuesday, 5/4 (poster 129)
There is little information about the long-term outcomes of children with facial nerve palsy due to Lyme disease. To assess their long-term outcomes, we conducted a longitudinal cohort study of children with facial nerve palsy in Connecticut who met the CDC's case definition for Lyme disease. We identified children with facial nerve palsy due to Lyme disease from population-based data for the state of Connecticut as well as from selected clinical practices. For each case, two controls without facial nerve palsy or Lyme disease, matched by age and location, were selected by random digit dialing. Patients and controls (or their parents) were interviewed using standardized questionnaires. Outcomes included self/parents′ reports of symptoms and of abilities to perform normal daily activities since the diagnosis was made (or an equivalent period of time for controls). In addition, comprehensive neuropsychological tests (Standford Binet IQ Test, Children's Memory Scale or Weschler Memory Scale, Trail Making Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement) were administered to patients only.
