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Acute conjunctivitis is a common childhood ailment that many practitioners treat with topical antibiotics, even though only 50% to 80% of cases are bacterial. To identify clinical factors associated with low risk for bacterial conjunctivitis, investigators in New York City conducted a prospective observational cohort study involving 368 patients (age range, 6 months–17 years) who presented with conjunctival erythema, eye discharge, or both to a pediatric emergency department between April 2007 and March 2008.
Physicians filled out a checklist of signs and symptoms for each patient and obtained a conjunctival swab for bacterial culture. Cultures were negative (grew normal flora or no bacteria) in 130 patients (35%). Most positive cultures gre…