Trial reportThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2005
The treatment of acute infectious conjunctivitis with fusidic acid: a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 6 of them syntheses 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antibiotics Versus Placebo for Acute Bacterial Conjunctivitis: Findings From a Cochrane Systematic Review.American journal of ophthalmology · 2024Pooled it
- Antibiotics versus placebo for acute bacterial conjunctivitis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Bacterial conjunctivitis.BMJ clinical evidence · 2012Pooled it
- Acute infective conjunctivitis in primary care: who needs antibiotics? An individual patient data meta-analysis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Pooled it
- Bacterial conjunctivitis.BMJ clinical evidence · 2010Pooled it
- 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
- A randomised controlled trial of management strategies for acute infective conjunctivitis in general practice.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2006Trial
- A Closed-Loop Audit: The Assessment of Red Flags and Management of Acute Conjunctivitis in Primary Care.Cureus · 2025Article
- Reducing Ophthalmic Antibiotic Use for Non-severe Conjunctivitis in Children.Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society · 2023Article
- Ophthalmic antibiotic use for acute infectious conjunctivitis in children.Journal of AAPOS : the official publication of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus · 2021Article
- Conjunctival Sac Microbiome in Infectious Conjunctivitis.Microorganisms · 2021Article
- Content validity of a novel patient-reported and observer-reported outcomes assessment to evaluate ocular symptoms associated with infectious conjunctivitis in both adult and pediatric populations.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2019Article
- Toxic epidermal necrolysis: the red eye and red herrings in casualty.BMJ case reports · 2018Article
- Conjunctivitis: systematic approach to diagnosis and therapy.Current infectious disease reports · 2011Article
- The role of topical moxifloxacin, a new antibacterial in Europe, in the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.Clinical drug investigation · 2011Article
- Bacterial conjunctivitis.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2010Article
- Effectiveness, tolerability and safety of azithromycin 1% in DuraSite for acute bacterial conjunctivitis.Patient preference and adherence · 2010Article
- Relative impact of clinical evidence and over-the-counter prescribing on topical antibiotic use for acute infective conjunctivitis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2009Article
- Drug use in children: cohort study in three European countries.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2008Article
- Do general practitioners adhere to the guideline on infectious conjunctivitis? Results of the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice.BMC family practice · 2007Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAcute infectious conjunctivitis is a common disorder in primary care. Despite a lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of topical antibiotics for the treatment of acute infectious conjunctivitis, most patients presenting in primary care with the condition receive topical antibiotics. In The Netherlands, fusidic acid is most frequently prescribed.
aimTo assess the effectiveness of fusidic acid gel compared to placebo for acute infectious conjunctivitis.
designDouble-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial.
settingTwenty-five Dutch primary care centres.
methodAdults presenting with a red eye and either (muco)purulent discharge or glued eyelid(s) were allocated to either one drop of fusidic acid gel 1% or placebo, four times daily during one week. The main outcome measure was the difference in recovery rates at 7 days. Secondary outcome measures were difference in bacterial eradication rates, a survival time analysis of the duration of symptoms, and the difference in recovery rates in culture-positive and culture-negative patients.
resultsOne hundred and eighty-one patients were randomised and 163 patients were analysed. Forty-five of the 73 patients in the treatment and 53 of the 90 patients in the placebo group recovered (adjusted risk difference = 5.3% [95% confidence interval {CI} = -11 to 18]). There was no difference between the median duration of symptoms in the two groups. At baseline, the prevalence of a positive bacterial culture was 32% (58/181). The bacterial eradication rate was 76% in the treatment and 41% in the placebo group (risk difference = 35% [95% CI = 9.3 to 60.4]). In culture positive patients, the treatment effect tended to be strong (adjusted risk difference = 23% [95% CI = -6 to 42]).
conclusionAt 7 days, cure rates in the fusidic acid gel and placebo group were similar, but the confidence interval was too wide to clearly demonstrate their equivalence. These findings do not support the current prescription practices of fusidic acid by GPs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
16378561PMC1570507W2101673739What 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.