Pink Eye: Top Health Concern for Parents as Kids Head Back to School

09 Ago 2016, 00:00 AM EDT

Dr. Robert Sambursky, MD offers tips on how to prevent, diagnose and
treat pink eye

SARASOTA, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As summer winds down and kids head back to school, a top concern for
parents is how to prevent communicable diseases like pink eye from
penetrating their households. Unknown to most parents, many doctors
often have difficulty differentiating between viral and bacterial cases
of pink eye. That is why Robert Sambursky, MD, CEO and President of
RPS Diagnostics (RPS®) developed AdenoPlus®, a rapid, in-office test
that detects all known serotypes of adenoviral conjunctivitis with a
sensitivity of 90 percent and a specificity of 96 percent.

“Conjunctivitis is one of the most common conditions seen in medical
offices, and a leading medical cause of children missing school,” said
Dr. Sambursky. “An accurate diagnosis is the key to improving
patient outcomes and preventing the spread of disease. Unfortunately,
due to the overlap in signs and symptoms, healthcare providers often
misdiagnose the infection. This leads to ineffective treatment and often
results in patients returning to school or work while still highly
contagious. In other cases, some patients receive unnecessary
antibiotics, which may lead to antibiotic resistance and ultimately
increases the cost of care to both the patient and the healthcare
system.”

Adenoviral conjunctivitis, the most common form of viral pink eye, is
highly contagious, and resistant to typical cleaning measures (it can
live on surfaces for 4-6 weeks). It’s also untreatable with antibiotics
and can cause prolonged damage even after the infection has passed. If
mistreated, infected patients could return to work or summer camp while
still contagious, infecting those around them. Even more threatening,
adenoviral conjunctivitis may only present as pink eye in some patients
and in others it may present as pharyngitis or even pneumonia, which can
be harmful and potentially fatal in patients with compromised immune
systems.

Parents, teachers, and students can take several preventative measures
to avoid infection and misdiagnosis. While Dr. Sambursky recommends that
patients adhere to a physician’s instructions following diagnosis, he
also suggests considering the following guidelines when treating the
various forms of pink eye:

After using the AdenoPlus® point-of-care test to determine
whether you have bacterial or viral pink eye, consider the steps below:

Viral pink eye:

•		Stay out of work, school, or daycare until you have no symptoms (redness, tearing, itching, etc.).
•		Use artificial tears, as recommended by your doctor or pharmacist.
•		Apply cool compresses to the infected eye 3-4 times a day for 10-15 minutes. Use a clean washcloth each time.
•		Use a clean pillowcase each night.
•		Wear sunglasses if your eyes are light sensitive.
•		Throw away makeup to prevent re-infection.
•		Don’t wear contact lenses while feeling discomfort, especially if eyes remain red.
•		Wash your hands frequently and try to avoid touching your eyes.
•		Use disinfecting agents with noted kill assessments for Adenovirus (i.e. 10% bleach solution).

Bacterial pink eye:

•		Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching others.
•		Use the antibiotic eye drop or ointment as prescribed by your physician.
•		Stay at home for 24-48 hours after beginning the treatment. After this amount of time has passed, it is generally safe to return to work, school or daycare with little risk of spreading the infection.

For more information about AdenoPlus, click here.

About RPS

Founded in 2004, RPS Diagnostics (RPS) is an emerging developer,
manufacturer, and marketer of rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic
tests. RPS Diagnostics is a trade name of Rapid Pathogen Screening,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of RPS Diagnostics, Inc. The company’s
innovative and patented technology platform facilitates the development
of a spectrum of cost-effective tests to support the rapid, in-office
diagnosis of patients with infectious diseases and inflammatory
conditions. As a result of U.S. government contracts, this platform is
also being developed to help detect the body’s immune response to viral
and bacterial infections. RPS tests have high sensitivity and
specificity, and can be easily performed by a clinician or their staff
without extensive training or additional equipment. Currently available
RPS tests include AdenoPlus® to aid in the diagnosis of adenoviral
conjunctivitis (pink eye) and InflammaDry® to aid in the diagnosis of
dry eye disease. The FebriDx® test to assess the clinical significance
of an acute febrile respiratory infection and aid in the differentiation
of viral or bacterial etiology is CE marked and is available in Europe
as well as other countries that accept the CE mark. FebriDx also is
regulatory cleared in Canada and Saudi Arabia. At this time, the FebriDx
test has not received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance
and is not commercially available in the United States. For more
information on RPS and its products, visit RPSdetectors.com.