SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2001
Topical antibiotics for acute bacterial conjunctivitis: a systematic review.
Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Topical antibiotics for acute bacterial conjunctivitis: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis update.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2005Pooled it
- Vacuum Sealing Drainage Treatment Combined with Antibiotic-Impregnated Bone Cement for Treatment of Soft Tissue Defects and Infection.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2016Trial
- Efficacy and safety of azithromycin 1.5% eye drops in paediatric population with purulent bacterial conjunctivitis.The British journal of ophthalmology · 2014Trial
- 3-day treatment with azithromycin 1.5% eye drops versus 7-day treatment with tobramycin 0.3% for purulent bacterial conjunctivitis: multicentre, randomised and controlled trial in adults and children.The British journal of ophthalmology · 2007Trial
- The treatment of acute infectious conjunctivitis with fusidic acid: a randomised controlled trial.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2005Trial
- A phase III, placebo controlled clinical trial of 0.5% levofloxacin ophthalmic solution for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.The British journal of ophthalmology · 2003Trial
- Targeting Ocular Biofilms with Plant-Derived Antimicrobials in the Era of Antibiotic Resistance.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Ophthalmic Antimicrobial Prescribing in Australian Healthcare Facilities.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Bacteriology and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Childhood Acute Bacterial Conjunctivitis in Western Greece.Medical hypothesis, discovery & innovation ophthalmology journal · 2019Article
- Cochrane systematic reviews and co-publication: dissemination of evidence on interventions for ophthalmic conditions.Systematic reviews · 2015Article
- Interdisciplinary workshop in the philosophy of medicine: medical knowledge, medical duties.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2014Review
- Review of Azithromycin Ophthalmic 1% Solution (AzaSite(®)) for the Treatment of Ocular Infections.Ophthalmology and eye diseases · 2012Article
- The role of topical moxifloxacin, a new antibacterial in Europe, in the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.Clinical drug investigation · 2011Article
- Effectiveness, tolerability and safety of azithromycin 1% in DuraSite for acute bacterial conjunctivitis.Patient preference and adherence · 2010Article
- [Rational antibiotic therapy in ophthalmology].Der Ophthalmologe : Zeitschrift der Deutschen Ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft · 2010Article
- Potential bias in ophthalmic pharmaceutical clinical trials.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2008Article
- Predicting bacterial cause in infectious conjunctivitis: cohort study on informativeness of combinations of signs and symptoms.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2004Article
- Diagnostic impact of signs and symptoms in acute infectious conjunctivitis: systematic literature search.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2003Review
- Is it possible and worth keeping track of deaths within general practice? Results of a 15 year observational study.Quality & safety in health care · 2003Article
- A qualitative study of patients' perceptions of acute infective conjunctivitis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2003Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There has been uncertainty about whether antibiotic therapy confers significant benefit in the treatment of acute bacterial conjunctivitis. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of antibiotic therapy in the management of acute bacterial conjunctivitis. Using standard Cochrane search methods, we identified double-blind randomised controlled trials in which any form of antibiotic treatment (topical, systemic or combination) had been compared with placebo in the management of acute bacterial conjunctivitis. Data extraction and analysis followed a pre-defined protocol. Meta-analysis was performed to obtain summary measures of relative risk. Six published trials were identified, of which three fulfilled the eligibility criteria for inclusion in this review. The trials were heterogeneous in terms of their inclusion and exclusion criteria, the nature of the intervention, and the outcome measures assessed. Meta-analysis indicates that acute bacterial conjunctivitis is frequently a self-limiting condition, as clinical remission occurred by days 2 to 5 in 64% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 57-71) of those treated with placebo. Treatment with antibiotics was, however, associated with significantly better rates of clinical remission (days 2 to 5: relative risk (RR) = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.11-1.55), with a suggestion that this benefit was maintained for late clinical remission (days 6 to 10: RR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.00-1.61). Acute bacterial conjunctivitis is frequently a self-limiting condition but the use of antibiotics is associated with significantly improved rates of early clinical remission, and early and late microbiological remission. Since trials to date have been conducted in selected specialist care patient populations, generalisation of these results to a primary care-based population should be undertaken with a degree of caution.
Indexed as
Identifiers
11407054PMC1314030W102506080What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.