SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2011
Acute infective conjunctivitis in primary care: who needs antibiotics? An individual patient data meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 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
- Systematic review of methods for individual patient data meta- analysis with binary outcomes.BMC medical research methodology · 2014Pooled it
- In Vitro Bactericidal Activity of Propamidine 0.1% and Other Ophthalmic Antiseptics on Conjunctivitis and Blepharitis Strains.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Article
- Skin Microbiome Overview: How Physical Activity Influences Bacteria.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Cancellation of the more complicated ophthalmic inpatient surgeries in a tertiary general hospital: a 10-year retrospective study.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Conjunctivitis: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Specialist Eye Hospital in Ghana, 2021.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Ophthalmic Antimicrobial Prescribing in Australian Healthcare Facilities.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Reliability of the Evidence Addressing Treatment of Corneal Diseases: A Summary of Systematic Reviews.JAMA ophthalmology · 2019Article
- Increase in antibiotic prescriptions in out-of-hours primary care in contrast to in-hours primary care prescriptions: service evaluation in a population of 600 000 patients.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2016Article
- Antibiotic prescribing patterns in out-of-hours primary care: a population-based descriptive study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2014Article
- Prescribing safety: the case of inappropriate medicines.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2011Article
- Dynamics of Drug Resistance: Optimal Control of an Infectious Disease.Operations researchArticle
- Conjunctivitis: A Systematic Review.Journal of ophthalmic & vision researchReview
- Infectious Disease in Contact Sports.Sports healthReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAcute infective conjunctivitis is a common problem in primary care, traditionally managed with topical antibiotics. A number of clinical trials have questioned the benefit of topical antibiotics for patients with acute infective conjunctivitis.
aimTo determine the benefit of antibiotics for the treatment of acute infective conjunctivitis in primary care and which subgroups benefit most.
designAn individual patient data meta-analysis.
methodRelevant trials were identified and individual patient data gathered for meta-analysis and subgroup analysis.
resultsThree eligible trials were identified. Individual patient data were available from all primary care trials and data were available for analysis in 622 patients. Eighty per cent (246/308) of patients who received antibiotics and 74% (233/314) of controls were cured at day 7. There was a significant benefit of antibiotics versus control for cure at seven days in all cases combined (risk difference 0.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.01 to 0.14). Subgroups that showed a significant benefit from antibiotics were patients with purulent discharge (risk difference 0.09, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.17) and patients with mild severity of red eye (risk difference 0.10, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.18), while the type of control used (placebo drops versus nothing) showed a statistically significant interaction (P=0.03).
conclusionAcute conjunctivitis seen in primary care can be thought of as a self-limiting condition, with most patients getting better regardless of antibiotic therapy. Patients with purulent discharge or a mild severity of red eye may have a small benefit from antibiotics. Prescribing practices need to be updated, taking into account these results.
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What 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.