J Emerg Med
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Multicenter Study
Enteroviral testing and length of hospital stay for children evaluated for lyme meningitis.
In Lyme disease-endemic areas, many children with aseptic meningitis are hospitalized while awaiting Lyme serology results. Although Lyme serology takes several days, an enteroviral polymerase chain reaction (EV PCR) test takes only a few hours to return results. ⋯ Rapid EV PCR testing could assist clinical decision making by Emergency Physicians, avoiding potentially unnecessary hospitalization and parenteral antibiotics for children at low risk of Lyme meningitis.