Acute infective conjunctivitis in primary care: Who needs antibiotics? An individual patient data meta-analysis

British Journal of General Practice

Volumn 61, Issue 590, 2011, Pages

  Jefferis, Joanna ^a   Perera, Rafael ^b   Everitt, Hazel ^d   Van Weert, Henk ^e   Rietveld, Remco ^f   Glasziou, Paul ^c   Rose, Peter ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

^c BOND UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^d UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON   (United Kingdom)

^e UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM   (Netherlands)

^f NONE

Author keywords

Antibacterial agents; Conjunctivitis; Family practice; Meta analysis

Indexed keywords

ANTIBIOTIC AGENT;

ACUTE DISEASE; ARTICLE; CONJUNCTIVITIS; DISEASE SEVERITY; EYE DISCHARGE; EYE INFECTION; GENERAL PRACTITIONER; HUMAN; META ANALYSIS; PATIENT CODING; PRIMARY MEDICAL CARE; RISK BENEFIT ANALYSIS; SYSTEMATIC REVIEW;

ACUTE DISEASE; ANTI-BACTERIAL AGENTS; CONJUNCTIVITIS, BACTERIAL; GENERAL PRACTICE; HUMANS; NUMBERS NEEDED TO TREAT; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS AS TOPIC; TREATMENT OUTCOME;

EID: 83455217936     PISSN: 09601643     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3399/bjgp11X593811     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. Dart J. Eye disease at a community health centre. BMJ 1986; 293(6560): 1477-1480.
2. McDonnell P. How do general practitioners manage eye disease in the community? Br J Ophthalmol 1988; 72(10): 733-736.
3. Everitt H, Little P. How do GPs diagnose and manage acute infective conjunctivitis? A GP survey. Fam Pract 2002; 19(6): 658-660. (Pubitemid 35460651)
4. Rietveld R, Riet G, Bindels P, et al. The treatment of acute infectious conjunctivitis with fusidic acid: a randomised controlled trial. Br J Gen Pract 2005; 55(521): 924-930. (Pubitemid 41763121)
5. Rose P, Harnden A, Brueggemann A, et al. Chloramphenicol treatment for acute infective conjunctivitis in children in primary care: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2005; 366(9479): 37-43. (Pubitemid 40956528)
6. Everitt H, Little P, Smith P. A randomised controlled trial of management strategies for acute infective conjunctivitis in general practice. BMJ 2006; 333(7563): 321-324. (Pubitemid 44350394)
7. NICE. Clinical Knowledge Summaries. Clinical summary: acute infective conjunctivitis. London: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. http://cks.library.nhs.uk/conjunctivitis-infective/management/quick-answers/ scenario-acute-infective-conjunctivitis#-304649 (accessed 3 May 2011).
8. Rietveld RP, ter Riet G, Bindels PJ, et al. Predicting bacterial cause in infectious conjunctivitis: cohort study on informativeness of combinations of signs and symptoms. BMJ 2004; 329(7459): 206-210.
9. Davis H, Mant D, Scott C, et al. Topical antibiotic use for acute infective conjunctivitis: relative impact of clinical evidence and over the counter prescribing. Br J Gen Pract 2009; 59(569): 897-900.
10. Koopman L, van der Heijden GJ, Glasziou P, et al. A systematic review of analytical methods used to study subgroups in (individual patient data) meta-analyses. J Clin Epidemiol 2007; 60(10): 1002-1009.
11. Wong SS, Wilczynski NL, Haynes RB. Developing optimal search strategies for detecting clinically sound treatment studies in EMBASE. J Med Libr Assoc 2006; 94(1): 41-47.
12. Higgins PT, Green S. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. http://www.cochrane-handbook.org (accessed 3 May 2011).
13. Gigliotti F, Williams W, Hayden F, et al. Etiology of acute conjunctivitis in children. J Paediatr 1981; 98(4): 531-536. (Pubitemid 11106468)
14. Weiss A, Brinder J, Nazar-Stewart V. Acute conjunctivitis in childhood. J Paediatr 1993; 122(1): 10-14. (Pubitemid 23010676)
15. Granet D. Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and differential diagnosis of the red eye. Allergy Asthma Proc 2008; 29(6): 565-574.
16. BenEzra D. Current practice: diagnosis and treatment in primary healthcare. Allergy 1995; 50(21 Suppl): 30-33; discussion 34-38.
17. Weber CM, Eichenbaum JW. Acute red eye. Differentiating viral conjunctivitis from other, less common causes. Postgrad Med 1997; 101(5): 185-186, 189-192, 195-196.
18. Jackson WB. Differentiating conjunctivitis of diverse origins. Surv Ophthalmol 1993; 38(Suppl): 91-104. (Pubitemid 23239416)
19. Sheikh A, Hurwitz B. Antibiotics versus placebo for acute bacterial conjunctivitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006; (2): CD001211.
20. Karpecki P, DePaolis M, Hunter JA, et al. Besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension 0.6% in patients with bacterial conjunctivitis: a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double masked, vehicle-controlled, 5-day efficacy and safety study. Clin Ther 2009; 31(3): 514-526.
21. Abelson MB, Heller W, Shapiro AM, et al. Clinical cure of bacterial conjunctivitis with azithromycin 1%: vehicle-controlled, double-masked clinical trial. Am J Ophthalmol 2008; 145(6): 959-965.
22. Tepedino ME, Heller WH, Unser DW, et al. Phase III efficacy and safety study of besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension 0.6% in the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis. Curr Med Res Opin 2009; 25(5): 1159-1169.
23. Glasziou PP, Del Mar CB, Sanders S, Hayem M. Antibiotics for acute otitis media in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004; (1): CD000219.
24. Del Mar CB, Glasziou PP, Spinks AB. Antibiotics for sore throat. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006; (4): CD000023.
25. Bezakova N, Damoiseaux RA, Hoes AW, et al. Recurrence up to 3.5 years after antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media in very young Dutch children: survey of trial participants. BMJ 2009; 338: b2525.
26. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Prescribing of antibiotics for self-limiting respiratory tract infections in adults and children in primary care. London: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2008. http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG69FullGuideline.pdf (accessed 3 May 2011).
27. Butler C. Commentary: Controversies in NICE guidance on antibiotic prescribing for self limiting respiratory tract infections in primary care. BMJ 2008; 337: a656.
28. Scott G. Over the counter chloramphenicol eye drops. BMJ 2010; 340: c1016.