Exclusion of students with conjunctivitis from school: policies of state departments of health

Abstract

Purpose: To use current state department of health regulations regarding exclusion of students with conjunctivitis from school as a starting point in developing uniform recommendations for schools.

Methods: State departments of health were asked to state their policy regarding when a child with conjunctivitis may return to school. This information was collated and examined for trends. The results were compared with current literature on infectious conjunctivitis.

Results: Of the 43 states that responded, 7 allow children with conjunctivitis to remain in school, 8 allow their return once antibiotic treatment is initiated, 12 allow their return 24 hours after antibiotics are initiated, 13 exclude them until the disease is noncommunicable, and 16 require the approval of a physician for return to school. Seventeen states gave multiple recommendations, which were often contradictory.

Conclusions: Although no current consensus exists among state health officials regarding students with conjunctivitis, the literature supports excluding children with conjunctivitis from school until they are asymptomatic. When patients are treated with fourth-generation fluoroquinolones, the length of exclusion may be as little as 24 hours in cases of bacterial conjunctivitis, and longer in cases of viral conjunctivitis. Following these guidelines may prevent epidemics of bacterial and viral conjunctivitis.