{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T09:47:03Z","timestamp":1785404823161,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,17]],"date-time":"2022-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663372800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The UK Department of Health &amp; Social Care"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Most presentations of conjunctivitis are acute. Studies show that uncomplicated cases resolve within 14 days without medication. However, antibiotic prescription remains standard practice. With antimicrobial resistance becoming a public health concern, we undertook this study to assess antibiotic prescription patterns in managing acute conjunctivitis in an eye hospital in Ghana. We recorded 3708 conjunctivitis cases; 201 were entered as acute conjunctivitis in the electronic medical records (January to December 2021). Of these, 44% were males, 56% were females, 39% were under 5 years, 21% were children and adolescents (5\u201317 years) and 40% were adults (\u226518 years). A total of 111 (55.2%) patients received antibiotics, of which 71.2% were appropriately prescribed. The use of antibiotics was more frequent in children under 17 years compared to adults (p &lt; 0.0001). Of the prescribed antibiotics, 44% belonged to the AWaRe \u201cAccess\u201d category (Gentamycin, Tetracycline ointment), while 56% received antibiotics in the \u201cWatch\u201d category (Ciprofloxacin, Tobramycin). Although most of the antibiotic prescribing were appropriate, the preponderance of use of the Watch category warrants stewardship to encompass topical antibiotics. The rational use of topical antibiotics in managing acute conjunctivitis will help prevent antimicrobial resistance, ensure effective health care delivery, and contain costs for patients and the health system.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph191811723","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,18]],"date-time":"2022-09-18T23:39:22Z","timestamp":1663544362000},"page":"11723","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Conjunctivitis: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Specialist Eye Hospital in Ghana, 2021"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9738-0342","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paa Kwesi Fynn","family":"Hope","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Bishop Ackon Memorial Christian Eye Centre, Cape Coast P.O. Box AD 184, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7183-4895","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lutgarde","family":"Lynen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Baaba","family":"Mensah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bishop Ackon Memorial Christian Eye Centre, Cape Coast P.O. Box AD 184, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Faustina","family":"Appiah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bishop Ackon Memorial Christian Eye Centre, Cape Coast P.O. Box AD 184, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edward Mberu","family":"Kamau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UNICEF\/UNDP\/World Bank\/WHO, The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), 1211 Geneva, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1451-2723","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jacklyne","family":"Ashubwe-Jalemba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medwise Solutions, KNH, P.O. Box 2356, Nairobi 00202, Kenya"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0480-1692","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kwame","family":"Peprah Boaitey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD 4226, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9478-0057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lady Asantewah Boamah","family":"Adomako","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Water Research Institute, Accra P.O. Box M 32, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1319-8004","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sevak","family":"Alaverdyan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tuberculosis Research and Prevention Center, Yerevan 0014, Armenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benedicta L.","family":"Appiah-Thompson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bishop Ackon Memorial Christian Eye Centre, Cape Coast P.O. Box AD 184, Ghana"},{"name":"Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast CT 1363, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eva","family":"Kwarteng Amaning","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AngloGold Ashanti Ghana, Obuasi Mine, Obuasi P.O. Box 2665, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mathurin Youfegan","family":"Baanam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bishop Ackon Memorial Christian Eye Centre, Cape Coast P.O. Box AD 184, Ghana"},{"name":"University Eye Hospital, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast P.O. Box 5007, Ghana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"345","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM200008033430507","article-title":"The Red Eye","volume":"343","author":"Leibowitz","year":"2000","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"507","DOI":"10.3949\/ccjm.75.7.507","article-title":"Bacteria Conjunctivitis: A Review for Internists","volume":"75","author":"Tarabishy","year":"2008","journal-title":"Cleve. Clin. J. 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