Importance Infectious conjunctivitis is highly transmissible and a public health concern. While mitigation strategies have been successful on a local level, population-wide decreases in spread are rare.

Objective To evaluate whether internet search interest and emergency department visits for infectious conjunctivitis were associated with public health interventions adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Setting, and Participants Internet search data from the US and emergency department data from a single academic center in the US were used in this study. Publicly available smartphone mobility data were temporally aligned to quantify social distancing. Internet search term trends for nonallergic conjunctivitis, corneal abrasions, and posterior vitreous detachments were obtained. Additionally, all patients who presented to a single emergency department from February 2015 to February 2021 were included in a review. Physician notes for emergency department visits at a single academic center with the same diagnoses were extracted. Causal inference was performed using a bayesian structural time-series model. Data were compared from before and after April 2020, when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended members of the public wear masks, stay at least 6 feet from others who did not reside in the same home, avoid crowds, and quarantine if experiencing flulike symptoms or exposure to persons with COVID-19 symptoms.

Exposures Symptoms of or interest in conjunctivitis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Outcome and Measures The hypothesis was that there would be a decrease in internet search interest and emergency department visits for infectious conjunctivitis after the adaptation of public health measures targeted to curb COVID-19.

Results A total of 1156 emergency department encounters with a diagnosis of conjunctivitis were noted from January 2015 to February 2021. Emergency department encounters for nonallergic conjunctivitis decreased by 37.3% (95% CI, −12.9% to −60.6%; P < .001). In contrast, encounters for corneal abrasion (1.1% [95% CI, −29.3% to 29.1%]; P = .47) and posterior vitreous detachments (7.9% [95% CI, −46.9% to 66.6%]; P = .39) remained stable after adjusting for total emergency department encounters. Search interest in conjunctivitis decreased by 34.2% (95% CI, −30.6% to −37.6%; P < .001) after widespread implementation of public health interventions to mitigate COVID-19.

Conclusions and Relevance Public health interventions, such as social distancing, increased emphasis on hygiene, and travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, were associated with decreased search interest in nonallergic conjunctivitis and conjunctivitis-associated emergency department encounters. Mobility data may provide novel metrics of social distancing. These data provide evidence of a sustained population-wide decrease in infectious conjunctivitis.

重要性 传染性结膜炎具有高度传染性，是一个公共卫生问题。虽然缓解策略在地方层面取得了成功，但在全人群范围内减少传播的情况很少见。

目的 评估感染性结膜炎的互联网搜索兴趣和急诊就诊是否与 COVID-19 大流行期间采取的公共卫生干预措施相关。

设计、设置和参与者 本研究使用了来自美国的互联网搜索数据和来自美国单个学术中心的急诊科数据。公开可用的智能手机移动数据在时间上保持一致以量化社交距离。获得了非过敏性结膜炎、角膜擦伤和玻璃体后脱离的互联网搜索词趋势。此外，所有从 2015 年 2 月到 2021 年 2 月到一个急诊科就诊的患者都被纳入了审查。提取了具有相同诊断的单个学术中心急诊科就诊的医生记录。使用贝叶斯结构时间序列模型进行因果推理。对比了2020年4月前后的数据，当时美国疾控中心建议公众佩戴口罩，

在 COVID-19 大流行的背景下接触 结膜炎的症状或兴趣。

主要成果和措施 假设是在采取旨在遏制 COVID-19 的公共卫生措施后，互联网搜索兴趣和传染性结膜炎急诊就诊率会下降。

结果 从 2015 年 1 月到 2021 年 2 月，共有 1156 例诊断为结膜炎的急诊就诊。非过敏性结膜炎的急诊就诊减少了 37.3%（95% CI，-12.9% 至 -60.6%；P  < .001） . 相比之下，角膜擦伤（1.1% [95% CI，-29.3% 至 29.1%]；P  = .47）和玻璃体后脱离（7.9% [95% CI，-46.9% 至 66.6%]；P  = .39) 在对急诊科就诊总数进行调整后保持稳定。 在广泛实施公共卫生干预措施以减轻 COVID-19 后，对结膜炎的搜索兴趣下降了 34.2%（95% CI，-30.6% 至 -37.6%；P < .001）。

结论和相关性 公共卫生干预措施，例如在 COVID-19 大流行期间保持社交距离、更加强调卫生和旅行限制，与对非过敏性结膜炎和结膜炎相关急诊科就诊的搜索兴趣降低有关。流动性数据可以提供新的社交距离指标。这些数据提供了感染性结膜炎在人群范围内持续减少的证据。