$sth = $dbh->prepare(q{
  SELECT * FROM items
  WHERE category = ?
  AND description LIKE ?
  OR itemid LIKE ?
  OR longdescription LIKE ?
  LIMIT ?, ?
});
$sth->execute(
  $id, 
  '%' . $search . '%', 
  '%' . $search . '%', 
  '%' . $search . '%', 
  $offset, $limit
) or die $dbh->errstr;