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Background: Media coverage of Lyme disease (LD) has led to an increase in consultations for presumed LD in Europe. However, LD is confirmed in only 10%-20% of patients, with a significant number remaining in a diagnostic dead-end.Objectives: To reach a deeper understanding of how patients themselves contribute to the diagnostic process. To describe the genesis of the LD hypothesis in care pathways.Methods: In 2019, 30 patients from a prospective cohort consulting in the infectious diseases department at University Hospital in Marseille for presumed LD were recruited for semistructured interviews. The inclusion criteria were: suffering from subjective symptoms for 6 months, no clinical or paraclinical argument suggesting current LD. The patients' medical trajectories were collected using a biographical approach.Results: The diagnosis of LD was primarily triggered by identification with personal testimonies found on the Internet. Most of patients were leading their own diagnostic investigation. The majority of participants were convinced they had LD despite the lack of medical evidence and the scepticism of their referring GP.Conclusion: GPs should first systematically explore patients' aetiologic representations in order to improve adherence to the diagnosis especially in the management of medically unexplained symptoms. Long COVID-19 syndrome challenge offers an opportunity to promote active patient involvement in diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France has been at the epicenter of the worldwide debate about hydroxychloroquine, as the main advocacy for its use to treat COVID-19 comes from a research unit led by Didier Raoult in Marseille. Among a national panel of 2940 general practitioners, we found that physicians in the areas most strongly affected by the epidemic or closest to the epicenter of the controversy reported that the hydroxychloroquine debate had made it difficult for them to deal with patients' treatment requests. Their adherence to official recommendations was also lower. It will be necessary to examine the conditions producing so strong a conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]