Pediatric Conjunctivitis a Simple Diagnosis Until It Isn’t

​Conjunctivitis is a common condition and easy enough to treat, but several uncommon conjunctivitis syndromes require more care and should not be missed.Conjunctivitis is either infectious (viral or bacterial) or noninfectious (allergic or nonallergic). Viral infections are more common in adults, bacterial ones in children, usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Adults tend to have more S. aureus infections, while the other pathogens are more common in children. An adenovirus is typically responsible for viral-associated infections in conjunctivitis.Acute Hemorrhagic ConjunctivitisAcute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis is rare but highly contagious and often presents as an epidemic; it occurs much more commonly in developing countries. It was first described in Ghana in 1969. Its prevalence in the United States is lower than that in developing countries, but epidemics have been reported in the Southwest. When contrasted with adenoviral conjunctivitis or herpes simplex keratitis, acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis is comparatively rare. It affects any age, race, or gender, but appears to have a predilection for adolescents between 11 and 15.The viruses most commonly responsible for hemorrhagic conjunctivitis are members of the Picornaviridae family, most commonly the coxsackievirus group A24 (CA24) and enterovirus E70 (EV70) strains. The associated conjunctivitis is characterized by the rapid onset of a s...

Source: M2E Too! Mellick's Multimedia EduBlog - March 1, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs