Predicting bacterial cause in infectious conjunctivitis

Editor—In their paper on distinguishing bacterial conjunctivitis from other causes Rietveld et al omitted to mention chlamydial conjunctivitis as a possible cause for “sticky eyes” in adults.¹ It was disappointing that detection of and screening for Chlamydia was not included in their laboratory protocol. A small but steady number of referrals to our sexual health clinic come from ophthalmologists screening for Chlamydia in adult conjunctivitis.

Although symptoms of chlamydial disease may be mild, it should be considered in the spectrum of clinical presentations likely in this study. A better understanding of prevalence of this condition within the cohort tested might have strengthened the paper.