(27 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Honolulu, Hawaii – 27 June 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rupa Wong, American Academy of Ophthalmology:
"Pink eye is really common, especially during this particular time of the year. What it refers to is conjunctivitis. The conjunctiva is the thin clear membrane which coats the surface of the eye over the white part of the eye. When it gets inflamed, the blood vessels get larger, the eyes get red, they get boggy. There’s a lot of tearing and discharge."
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2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rupa Wong, American Academy of Ophthalmology:
"Unfortunately, the majority of the pink eye cases that we see are from a virus and antibiotics just don’t work for viruses. So, as a result, we’re seeing that there’s over-treatment with antibiotic eye drops for pink eye, because most of the cases are either from a viral conjunctivitis ,or if they are from a bacteria, usually it’s going to resolve on its own."
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3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rupa Wong, American Academy of Ophthalmology:
"So I don’t want to take away from the pain of pink eye. And I understand why parents might think that antibiotic eye drops are going to be helpful. But if you just use the cold artificial tears, if you do some cold compresses, those usually in and of themselves are just good enough."
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rupa Wong, American Academy of Ophthalmology:
"The most important thing with pink eye is that it’s contagious, especially the viral form of it. So you have to really start instituting very strict hand hygiene. During the pandemic, we were doing that. So that’s very important. Washing your hands, washing pillows, towels, bed sheets."
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STORYLINE:
Doctors are prescribing antibiotics to most kids and teens who have pink eye, despite guidelines that discourage their use, researchers reported Thursday.
More than two-thirds of U.S. children and teens who saw a doctor for pink eye left with a prescription for antibiotic eye drops, their research found. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that doctors do not routinely give out antibiotics for what’s also called conjunctivitis, which usually clears up on its own.
Antibiotics don’t work at all on viruses — the most common cause of pink eye. And even mild eye infections from bacteria will resolve on their own in most cases, the medical group says.
Pink eye is highly contagious and causes red, swollen and sometimes itchy eyes. Often, a chilled, wet towel and artificial tears are enough to ease symptoms.
For their study, researchers used a nationwide database of insurance claims from 2021. Nearly 45,000 children received care for pink eye at a doctor’s office, eye clinic or emergency room and 69% were prescribed antibiotics, which come in drops and ointments.
Whether they were treated or not, return visits to the doctor for pink eye were rare, under 4%, according to the study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
Doctor’s offices gave antibiotics the most, to 72% of patients, compared to ERs at 57% and eye clinics at 34%.
That could be because eye clinics have the tools to figure out what is actually causing the pink eye and treat accordingly, said Dr. Rupa Wong, a pediatric eye doctor at Honolulu Eye Clinic and spokesperson for the ophthalmology group.
Dr. Daniel Shapiro, a pediatric emergency doctor and co-author of the study, said he understands why parents might be alarmed when their child has an infection.
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