Gonococcal Ophthalmia Neonatorum

Abstract

To the Editor: The article by Laga et al. and the editorial by Dillon on gonococcal ophthalmia (Nov. 27 issue)1,2 document the high incidence of this infection when prophylaxis is not used — on this occasion, in Nairobi, Kenya, because of the occurrence of chemical conjunctivitis. Credé's seminal description of the striking benefit of silver nitrate prophylaxis was published 106 years ago; the incidence of ophthalmia fell, from 7.6 to 13.6 percent of newborns to zero in his Leipzig clinic, with the routine use of 2 percent silver nitrate. He stated that “It is not unusual for the instillation to…. © 1987, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.