Study warns conjunctivitis may be caused by STIs

CONJUNCTIVITIS may be caused by sexually transmitted infections (STI), a study has revealed. It urges doctors to be highly suspicious of chlamydia and gonorrhea when treating conjunctivitis in cases where there may be an underlying STI.

The annual incidence of chlamydial and gonococcal conjunctivitis among adults and infants visiting Cork University Hospital (CUH) between July 2002 and December 2006.

The study, published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, found that the annual incidence of the adult chlamydial conjunctivitis increased in line with the incidence of genital chlamydial infection in the area.

There were 51 cases of conjunctivitis caused by sexually transmitted organisms — 48 were caused by chlamydia trachomatis and three resulted from neisseria gonorhoeae.

Most cases of conjunctivitis are caused by non-sexually transmitted bacteria and viruses, said Dr Michael Quirke, who was involved in the study.

In cases of conjunctivitis that failed to resolve with more commonly prescribed treatment regimes and where there was a suspicion of chlamydial and/or gonoccal infection, based on the history, the doctor should consider the underlying STI as a possible cause, Dr Quirke told the Irish Medical News .

Gonoccal conjunctivitis was an extremely serious infection and treatment might sometimes be given without confirmatory cultures if it is suspected as a cause, he said.

The doctor also emphasised that laboratory diagnosis of infection should be sought before instituting any treatment, particularly for chlamydial infection.