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Many children are given antibiotics to treat conjunctivitis, contrary to guideline advice

Many children are given antibiotics to treat conjunctivitis, contrary to guideline advice

 


The researchers reported that doctors prescribe antibiotics to most children and teens with conjunctivitis, even though guidelines recommend against their use.

According to Daniel Shapiro, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues, more than two-thirds of U.S. children and teens who go to the doctor for conjunctivitis are sent home with a prescription for antibiotic eye drops. JAMA Ophthalmology.

American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Recommendation Doctors don't prescribe antibiotics because the condition often goes away on its own. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses, the most common cause of conjunctivitis. Even mild bacterial eye infections can cause conjunctivitis. Solve it yourself According to the AAO, in most cases this is the case.

Conjunctivitis is highly contagious and causes red, swollen, and sometimes itchy eyes, and can often be soothed with cool, wet wipes and artificial tears.

For their study, Shapiro and his colleagues used a national database of insurance claims from 2021. Nearly 45,000 children were treated for conjunctivitis at a doctor's office, eye clinic or emergency room, and 69% were prescribed antibiotics, which came in the form of eye drops or ointment.

Regardless of whether patients received treatment, return visits to a medical facility for conjunctivitis were rare, occurring in less than 4% of cases. Doctor's offices were most likely to prescribe antibiotics to 72% of patients, compared with 57% in emergency departments and 34% in eye clinics.

The lower rates at eye clinics may be because eye clinics have the tools to determine the actual cause of conjunctivitis and treat it accordingly, said Rupa Wong, MD, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Honolulu Eye Clinic and an AAO spokesperson.

Shapiro said he understands why parents get anxious when their children have an infection — “They have red eyes and it's pretty striking and scary,” he said — but added that antibiotics shouldn't be overused if they're not effective.

The study didn't go into detail about why antibiotics were prescribed or the outcomes. But the fact that there were so few return visits in either case suggests that not getting a prescription doesn't put patients at higher risk for complications or serious problems, Wong said. “There are other things we can do to help make sure your child feels safe without relying on antibiotic eye drops.”

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/generalinfectiousdisease/110876

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