Should I use antibiotics for conjunctivitis in children

A group of doctors from the United Kingdom conducted a randomized, double-blind study to compare the effectiveness of eye drops with chloramphenicol and placebo in children with infectious conjunctivitis in ambulatory practice. The study involved 326 children between the ages of 6 months. up to 13 years. Every eighth child in the UK every year there is an episode of acute infectious conjunctivitis. Usually in such cases, the doctor prescribes an antibiotic for topical use. 

However, data on whether use of antibiotics in infectious conjunctivitis are contradictory. The children were randomized into 2 groups: a group of chloramphenicol and placebo - for 163 children. Each patient climbed swab for bacteriological and virological investigations. The primary outcome was recovery on day 7 of treatment. The state was estimated based on the diaries of children who completed their parents. Follow-up period was 6 weeks, during which determined the frequency of relapses. Failed to conduct follow-up of nine children (one of the chloramphenicol group and 8 in the placebo group).
His recovery was observed in 140 (86%) of 162 patients in the chloramphenicol and 128 (83%) of 155 children of the control group. Recurrence of conjunctivitis for 6 weeks was observed in 7 patients (4%) children treated with antibiotics, and 5 (3%) receiving placebo. Differences in these parameters were not statistically significant. Causative agent of bacterial eradication rate was higher in the group receiving the antibiotic (40%), compared with the placebo group (23%), but this had no effect on clinical recovery. Adverse drug reactions are equally rare in both groups of children. 
At present, the occurrence of acute infectious conjunctivitis is a standard local application of antibiotics. However, due to increased antibiotic resistance need to use antibiotics for conjunctivitis is controversial. The results of this study also indicate that the pinkeye caused to the children in the outpatient setting is prone to self-resolve, and usually use antibiotics in these situations is not required.