| Survey response | Scotland response (N = 61), % (95% CI) | England response (N = 130), % (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attitudes responses | ||||
| Disagreed ‘LD is a likely outcome if a person is bitten by a tick in the UK‘ | 86.9 (75.78 to 94.16 | 81.5 (73.79 to 87.80) | 1.92 (0.74 to 5.00) | 0.09 |
| Considers LD to occur within their practice region | 93.4 (84.05 to 98.18) | 86.9 (79.89 to 92.19) | 2.14 (0.69 to 6.67) | 0.09 |
| Practice/clinical scenario | ||||
| Consultation with asymptomatic patient with attached and engorged tick | ||||
| Advise/remove tick | 100 (94.13 to 100) | 95.4 (90.22 to 98.29) | a | a |
| Don't know response | 0 | 3.1 (0.84 to 7.69) | a | a |
| Other response | 0 | 1.5 (0.19 to 5.45) | a | a |
| Indicated method of tick removal (multi-response) | ||||
| Tick removal tool | 96.7 (88.65 to 99.6) | 89.2 (82.59 to 93.99) | a | a |
| Further advice (themes from free text responses) | ||||
| No further advice indicated | 18.0 (9.36 to 29.98) | 14.6 (9.03 to 21.88) | a | a |
| Prophylaxis | 8.2 (2.72 to 18.1) | 26.2 (18.84 to 34.58) | a | a |
| Symptoms advice — EM alone | 24.6 (14.46 to 37.29) | 22.3 (15.48 to 30.44) | a | a |
| Symptoms advice — EM and non-EM rash symptoms | 55.7 (42.45 to 68.45) | 40.8 (32.24 to 49.73) | a | a |
| Treating a patient with a positive non-NHS approved LD test | ||||
| Would treat patient on basis of test | 18.0 (9.36 to 29.98) | 35.4 (27.2 to 44.25) | a | a |
| Would not treat patient on basis of test | 23.0 (13.15 to 35.5) | 11.5 (6.60 to 18.32) | a | a |
| Would consult guidance | 41.0 (28.55 to 54.32) | 47.7 (38.86 to 56.63) | a | a |
| Other (free text response see Table S4a) | 18.0 (9.36 to 29.98) | 5.4 (2.19 to 10.78) | a | a |
| Clinically manage a patient with ongoing symptoms of headache and fatigue following two courses of antibiotics for LD with EM | ||||
| Refer to an Infectious Disease specialist | 95.1 (86.29 to 98.97) | 72.3 (63.78 to 79.79) | a | a |
| Discuss other possible causes for symptoms | 55.7 (42.45 to 68.45) | 57.7 (48.72 to 66.3) | a | a |
| Discuss symptoms may not be active disease — keep under review | 31.1 (19.9 to 44.29) | 31.5 (23.67 to 40.27) | a | a |
| Refer to other specialist | 8.2 (2.72 to 18.1) | 17.7 (11.56 to 25.35) | a | a |
| Prescribe a third course of antibiotics for LD | 4.9 (1.03 to 13.71) | 1.5 (0.19 to 5.45) | a | a |
True and False response options: analysis included a ’don’t know’ response with the incorrect response option. If applicable, ’don’t know’ responses (%) for each responder group are tabulated in Supplementary Table 1. aMulti-response options may have values >100%, with no associated OR or P-value calculable. CI = confidence interval. EM = erythema migrans. LD = Lyme disease. OR = odds ratio.