Audit: Blepheritis Management in Primary Care

Abstract

Blepharitis is a chronic condition and recur multiple times in a patient’s lifetime. With this, it is important to review the corresponding management, especially in primary care settings where they often present. The three main aspects to blepharitis management involve lid hygiene, use of antibiotics, and if necessary, secondary care management. Of the three, lid hygiene is continually emphasized in NICE CKS guidelines for blepharitis management as it helps patients reduce symptom burden, while antibiotic use is mainly for the acute management of infection if present. Further management for secondary care may be needed for patients who subsequently develop complications or have bothering symptoms. Using NICE CKS standards for blepharitis management, this audit aimed to (1) identify whether advice on good eyelid hygiene was given to patients, (2) identify the antibiotics used in the management of blepharitis, and (3) investigate the clinical outcomes of blepharitis management.