Efficacy of topical ophthalmic prophylaxis in prevention of ophthalmia neonatorum

Ophthalmia neonatorum is a form of conjunctivitis occurring in infants younger than 4 weeks. It can be a leading cause of blindness in newborns. In this random clinical case-control study, ophthalmia neonatorum was investigated in one university centre. In this study, prophylactic effect of normal saline and ophthalmic erythromycin was compared with a group not receiving any prophylaxis. The first group received ophthalmic erythromycin ointment (0.5%), the second group were distilled one drop of normal saline into each eye, and the third group did not take any prophylaxis. Within the first 10 days of life, conjunctivitis developed in 138 newborns (13.8%). Of conjunctivitis cases, 29.7% were in erythromycin group, 31.9% in normal saline group and 38.4% were in no-prophylaxis group. In general, no significant difference was observed among the three groups (P > 0.05).