Practice Management
A study of 2,083 patients found that doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (doxy PEP) was highly effective in preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in a real-world setting. Conducted from April 2019 to July 2024 at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the study analyzed patient demographics, STI testing history, and doxy PEP use patterns. Nearly half of participants were aged 31–40, over half were White, and most (85.2%) were gay or bisexual men. Most were not diagnosed with …
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Flu activity surged in the United States during the final week of January with healthcare visits for respiratory virus symptoms reaching a notably high level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu test positivity rose to 31.6%, and outpatient visits for flu-like illness climbed to 7.8%, staying above the national baseline for the 10th consecutive week. Flu activity remains high or very high across most of the country. The CDC estimates …
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A meta-analysis of 41 randomized clinical trials found that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were as effective as ketamine and high-potency opioids for treating pediatric acute pain, while having fewer risks (N=4,935; median age 9.7 years). Researchers found all 3 drug categories outperformed placebo in treating that pain with at least moderate certainty. In the study, presented in JAMA Pediatrics, the reduction in pain severity was “modest” overall. Only NSAIDs reduced the need for rescue medication …
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Seniors age 65 years and older can experience a significant reduction in mortality risk when treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir during influenza hospitalizations, even if they were not vaccinated for flu, according to research involving 8,135 influenza patients that was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Patients who were given oseltamivir had an 18% lower risk of 30-day mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69 to 0.98). The overall mortality ratio …
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Corticosteroids for patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can lower the risk of death within 30 days by 28%, as published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Researchers in the Netherlands analyzed 8 published trials that used risk-and-effect modeling and intent-to-treat to compare adjuvant corticosteroid treatment with a placebo in 3,224 hospitalized CAP patients. Of those studied, 7.6% (246 patients) died within 30 days of diagnosis (6.6% of 1,618 in the corticosteroid group vs 8.7% [140 …
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved the new non-opioid analgesic suzetrigine (Journavx) to treat moderate to severe acute pain in adults. Suzetrigine is an oral tablet that reduces pain by targeting the NaV1.8 pain-signaling pathway in the peripheral nervous system before the pain signals reach the brain. It is the first drug to be approved in this new class of pain management medicines, according to the FDA. Two randomized, double-blind trials of …
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A meta-analysis found that the global prevalence of reported penicillin allergy is 9.4% (ranging from 5-15%), as published in the Journal of Infection, however, much of the data could be skewed because it comes from high-income countries. Researchers analyzed 174 studies from 28 countries. Of those, 72% of the studies were conducted in the United States (95 studies), United Kingdom (18), and Australia (18). Even so, previous research has shown that 95% of people identified …
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While some health officials initially distinguished an emerging tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Kansas City as the largest documented TB outbreak on record in the United States, a report from the Associated Press indicates that it’s likely not the largest. A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the news outlet that there are at least 2 other larger TB outbreaks recorded. According to data from the Kansas Department of Health and …
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Patients are finding positive benefit in the use of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs across a wide range of health conditions, as published in Nature Medicine. An observational study of Veterans Affairs data for nearly 2 million patients found that over about 3 years, adults with type 2 diabetes who used a GLP-1 had significantly decreased risks for 42 outcomes, increased risks for 19 outcomes, and no effect with 114 other outcomes when …
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now require labeling changes for 2 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines to warn of the potential risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with the vaccines. Postmarket observational studies suggest there is an increased risk of GBS during the 42 days following vaccination with Pfizer’s Abrysvo vaccine for RSV and GSK’s Arexvy vaccine for RSV. Both were approved by FDA in 2023, so they are relatively new in the …
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