Antibiotic eye drops study

"Healthy children with acute conjunctivitis do not need an ocular antibiotic at first presentation to primary care," Peter Rose, MD, Department of Primary Health Care, University of Oxford, et al., find in a study published in The Lancet. The randomized, double-blind trial compared the effects of chloramphenicol eye drops to placebo in 326 children age 6 months to 12 years. Clinical cure of eye infection occurred by day seven in 83% of children in the placebo group and 86% of those treated with the antibiotic, the authors state. Rose et al. advise forgoing medical consultation unless the child's symptoms are "unusual" or persist for more than a week. The UK's Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved chloramphenicol 0.5% for pharmacy sale in June (1"The Tan Sheet" June 13, 2005, In Brief)...