Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

A 2-Year-Old Girl With Respiratory Distress And Altered Mental Status: A Case Report

Urgent Message: While children presenting to urgent care centers usually have minor illnesses, attentiveness to vital signs and behavior is crucial to avoid missing rare but serious diagnoses. Diabetic ketoacidosis is the most common initial presentation of type 1 diabetes mellitus in young children. Capillary blood glucose measurement is a universally available screening tool that should be used liberally in ill-appearing children with alterations in level of consciousness. Ramiro Rodriguez, MD; Samantha Reis, MSN, FNP-BC, …

Urgent Care Considerations for the Patient with Suspected Rib Fracture

Urgent Message: Rib fractures most commonly occur after blunt chest injury. Consider serious associated injuries such as pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pulmonary contusion when assessing patients with suspected rib fractures. Ensuring appropriate analgesia is critical for reducing the risk of complications. Dustin M. Nelson, BS; Shering Torres, MAS, MD; Michael Weinstock, MD Citation: Nelson DM, Torres S, Weinstock M. Urgent Care Considerations for the Patient with Suspected Rib Fracture. J Urgent Care Med. 2025; 19(4): 13-21 …

Uncovering the Unexpected: A Case of Chronic Cough in an Adolescent with an Unusual Etiology

Urgent Message: Chronic cough has a distinct differential diagnosis in different age groups. A cough lasting longer than 4 weeks in children and adolescents should prompt revision of the differential diagnosis to reduce delays in diagnosing serious etiologies. Daniel Moscato, MS, PA-C; Joshua W. Russell, MD Citation: Moscato D, Russell JW. Uncovering the Unexpected: A Case of Chronic Cough in an Adolescent with an Unusual Etiology. J Urgent Care Med. 2025; 19(4)23-26. Key words: Pediatrics, …

Comparing Outcomes for Outpatients Treated With Cephalexin for Uncomplicated Cystitis: Is QID Dosing Necessary?

Urgent Message: Patients commonly seek unscheduled care for urinary tract infections (UTIs). Cephalexin is among the most frequently prescribed antibiotics for acute UTI treatment, however, dosing regimens lack standardization. In this small observational study, similar rates of clinical cure and adherence were observed with cephalexin 500 mg dosed every 12 hours vs every 6 hours in patients with cystitis, calling into question whether QID (4 times per day) dosing is necessary. Cassandra Lopane, PharmD; Erica …

16-Year-Old With Rash After Septoplasty

A 16-year-old girl presents to urgent care with complaints of fever, chills, and a diffuse sunburn-like rash that developed over the past day. The patient underwent septoplasty 2 days prior for a deviated septum, and nasal packing was utilized to manage her postoperative bleeding. On examination in urgent care, she was febrile to 104°F (40°C), tachycardic, and hypotensive. Widespread erythematous blanching macules and patches were seen. View the image below and consider what your …

27-Year-Old with History of Asthma

A 27-year-old female with history of asthma presents to urgent care on a Friday morning with dyspnea for 1 day. She denies palpitations, syncope, or chest pain. An ECG is obtained. View the ECG captured above and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

29-Year-Old With Pain After Foot Inversion

A 29-year-old man presents to urgent care on a Saturday with pain in his left foot after playing tennis. A series of x-rays is ordered. Review the images below and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the following page. Differential Diagnosis Diagnosis The correct diagnosis is an avulsion fracture of the base of the 5th metatarsal. The x-ray shows transverse lucency at the base of …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – January 2025

Hematoma Blocks Effective for Closed Forearm Reduction Take Home Point: Hematoma blocks are an effective method of achieving analgesia to facilitate closed reduction of forearm fractures. Citation: Pitman G, Soeyland T, Popovic G, et al. Hematoma block is the most efficient technique for closed forearm fracture reduction: a retrospective cohort study. Emerg Med J. 2024; 41:595–601 Relevance: Adequate closed reduction of wrist and forearm fractures acutely after injury is important to reduce risk of complications …

Managing Health Data Obsessive Disorder Presentation in Urgent Care

In a prior editorial, I described the case of Thomas, a young man among the “worried-well,” who presented to urgent care (UC) with anxiety related to an alarm that sounded as a result of a malfunction of a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which was prescribed despite his lack of a diagnosis of diabetes, out of concern for abnormal blood glucose levels.[1] The underlying issue prompting his visit was not hypoglycemia but what I refer to …

Urgent Care Assessment of Patients with Possible Diverticulitis

Urgent Message: Diverticulitis is a prevalent condition characterized by localized inflammation most commonly of the sigmoid colon. It is often diagnosed with a computed tomography scan with intravenous contrast. Uncomplicated cases are most common and require only monitoring, however complicated cases can require hospitalization and emergent surgical intervention. Urgent care clinicians should be comfortable assessing patients with possible diverticulitis and recognizing features that suggest the possibility of more complicated disease. Naushair Hussain DO; Shahmeer Hussain …

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