Antibiotics for acute conjunctivitis

After 16 years of practice, I find it hard to read Visscher and colleagues’ recommendations for the treatment of conjunctivitis.1

For many years I have been treating conjunctivitis with ciprofloxacin eye drops. All of my patients get complete slit lamp examinations. The vast majority are better in 24 hours and return to their normal activities.

To withhold treatment is absurd. The cost of ciprofloxacin eye drops is less than $10. The risk of an adverse reaction is extremely low. Why would you put the rest of the family at risk for no reason? Also, the child would probably miss several more days of school waiting for the infection to go away on its own, if it does at all.

As a physician who has seen multiple cases of epidemic viral conjunctivitis and bacterial conjunctivitis, the difference between the 2 conditions is obvious, and the different treatments would be started at presentation.

In my opinion, this is yet another example of clinical researchers being out of touch with patients’ lives.

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