Conjunctivitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Conjunctivitis, including details on pink eye, symptoms, causes, treatment, medication.

Management strategies for acute infective conjunctivitis in primary care: a systematic review.

Rose P

University of Oxford, Department of Primary Healthcare, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford, UK. peter.rose@dphpc.ox.ac.uk

A systematic review of the literature on all aspects of the management of acute infective conjunctivitis is undertaken. Acute infective conjunctivitis is a common presentation in primary healthcare. It is usually a mild condition and serious complications are rare. Clinical signs are a poor discriminator of bacterial and viral causes. Studies of treatment show that there is a high rate of clinical cure without any treatment (65% within 2-5 days). Treatment with topical antibiotics improves the rate of clinical recovery and this is more marked in the first 2-5 days after presentation (number needed to treat [NNT] = 6), but less by 6-10 days (NNT = 13). Studies comparing treatment with different antibiotics do not demonstrate that any one antibiotic is superior; the choice of antibiotic should be based on consideration of cost and bacterial resistance. The present practice of prescribing antibiotics to most cases is not necessary.

Published 16 August 2007 in Expert Opin Pharmacother, 8(12): 1903-21.
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