Acute conjunctivitis: truth and misconceptions

ABSTRACT

Objective: Acute conjunctivitis is an extremely common condition and can be associated with significant morbidity and economic burden. Despite this, considerable controversy exists pertaining to the prevalence, diagnosis, management, and treatment of the condition. A panel of ophthalmology experts was assembled to review and discuss the current evidence based literature as it pertains to each of these persistent controversies.

Methods and scope: An acute conjunctivitis round table symposium was convened at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Atlanta, November 2008. The expert panelists consisted of four academic ophthalmologists in the field of cornea and external disease, whose discussion was informed by an English language literature survey carried out on the PubMed database for the period of January 1972 to October 2008. A narrative summary was generated from the literature review and direct transcription of this event, from which this Review article was developed.

Findings and conclusions: Considerable light has been shed on acute microbial conjunctivitis and especially those cases caused by adenovirus. Many of the myths that have perpetuated for years have been debunked by emerging evidence. The advent and the implementation of better diagnostic tools and anti-viral medications will help clinicians to improve their diagnostic accuracy, improve management and treatment decisions, and ultimately benefit patients while saving overall healthcare costs.

Key words: :

• Acute conjunctivitis
• Adenovirus
• Viral conjunctivitis

Transparency

Declaration of funding

Rapid Pathogen Screening, Inc. (RPS), Sarasota, FL, USA sponsored a round table discussion on acute conjunctivitis at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Atlanta, GA, USA in November 2008, including a direct transcription of the symposium. RPS has also supported the publication of this article, including editorial support provided to the authors. The authors take full responsibility for the content of the article and the views and opinions expressed, which are independent of, and not necessarily shared by, RPS.

Declaration of financial/other relationships

M.R. has disclosed that he serves as an advisor to RPS as well as to Alcon, Allergan, Bausch & Lomb, INSPIRE, ISTA and Vistakon. He has also disclosed that he has received grants from Alcon, Allergan and INSPIRE. B.J., M.M. and T.P.O’B. have disclosed that they have no financial interest in RPS. T.P.O’B. has disclosed that he has served as ad hoc consultant to Alcon, Allergan, Bausch & Lomb, INSPIRE, ISTA and Vistakon. M.M. has disclosed that he has served as a consultant for AMO, Allergan, Bausch & Lomb, Santen and Vistakon. B.J. has disclosed that he has received honoraria from RPS.

All peer reviewers receive honoraria from CMRO for their review work. The peer reviewers have disclosed that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Acknowledgment

The authors kindly thank Robert Sambursky MD of RPS who provided editorial support during the development of the article.