BMJ  2006;333:446-447 (26 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7565.446-c

Letter

Managing conjunctivitis in general practice

Research into management strategies for acute infective conjunctivitis

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Neither Everitt et al nor Rietveld et al seem to have consulted an ophthalmologist when designing their studies.^{1 2} There is little evidence base to back up the clinical features of a condition that many practitioners take for granted. Ophthalmologists, in particular, are aware that adenoviral conjunctivitis tends to follow a distinct clinical pattern: patients often complain of watering and "grittiness" (initially in one eye before involvement of the other), and on closer questioning it often becomes apparent that other family members or work colleagues have had a similar problem. Pre-auricular lymphadenopathy is also a helpful sign. Symptoms may take up to three weeks to resolve, and the patient has not uncommonly been using topical antibiotics for a protracted period at the time of referral—these contain preservatives that may trigger an allergic response in an already inflamed eye, thereby exacerbating the patient's symptoms. A diagnosis of chlamydial conjunctivitis or . . . [Full text of this article]

Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ srobbie1@hotmail.com

Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD

Whipps Cross University Hospital, Whipps Cross Rd, London E11 1NR

Kings Mill Hospital, Mansfield Rd, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire NG17 4JT

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