Clinical

Fact: Ketamine (Ketalar) is a legal, approved medication available in the United States as an anesthetic agent indicated for diagnostic and surgical procedures that do not require skeletal muscle relaxation; for induction of anesthesia preceding general anesthesia; and to supplement low-potency agents such as nitrous oxide. It’s also used as an anesthetic agent for animals. More ominous fact: Seizures of illicit ketamine rose 1,100% from 2017 to 2022. Maybe worst of all, a newsletter article …

Who knows what the next COVID-19 “season” may bring in terms of incidence and severity? The virus has been completely unpredictable, to date—although new data are revealing interesting likelihoods, including at least one specific to urgent care. According to a new article published by BMC Infectious Diseases, COVID patients who present to acute unscheduled episodic care (AUEC, which included both emergency rooms and urgent care centers) are more likely to require hospitalization compared with those …

Incidence of multiple sexually transmitted infections has been growing for several years, according to just-released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases of syphilis alone grew at a 32% rate from 2020 to 2021; gonorrhea has climbed steadily over a 5-year period; and chlamydia cases have been picking up after a brief, minor reduction in 2020. At the same time, multiple factors point to a crisis of accessing care. For one, many …

It’s not uncommon for patients to travel to other countries to seek care, often because certain procedures may be less expensive than in the U.S. ‘Medical tourism,’ as it’s called, has certain inherent risk, however, such as availability of follow-up care and flying home too soon after a procedure and increasing risk for blood clots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a more specific problem that’s of immediate concern, however. The CDC …

In spite of millions of deaths and hospitalizations, as well as economic hardships and general inconveniences, there has been a segment of the U.S. population that believes COVID-19 is no more of a threat than seasonal influenza. Now that vaccines have been shown to be effective and COVID is no longer in the headlines every day, it’s possible more people than ever think that. New data published in a research letter published by the Journal …

As you probably recall, there was a marked difference in rates of respiratory syncytial virus at a certain point during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that there was essentially no RSV “season” in 2020–21, presumably due to school closures, masking, and social distancing practices. Before the pandemic, RSV cases started to climb in October, peaked in December, and essentially disappeared by April. Now, the Journal …

Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever may get the lion’s share of the headlines, but in reality there are any number of tick-borne illnesses that can accompany tick bites and burrowing. That’s part of the message a ProMedica Urgent Care for Kids nurse practitioner  wanted to impart when she participated in an article published by The Blade in Toledo, OH recently. While it may not surprise you, her explanation that the type of illness …

It’s only been a couple of months since some cities, such as New York, declared the monkeypox outbreak that started in 2022 “over,” but Chicago health officials have issued a warning that from April 17 to just this week seven new cases have been reported there. While they’ve classified the severity of the alert as “low,” they note that only one case had been reported from February 1 through April 16. So, in addition to …

Just a few weeks ago, we told you that the recently discovered COVID-19 variant XBB.1.16 has been reported and increasing in prevalence in at least 18 U.S. states and 22 countries. Now the variant has been dubbed Arcturus, and researchers at the Mayo Clinic report that it has a distinctive effect on individuals who are infected compared with other COVID variants: conjunctivitis. Further, according to the COVID Tracker maintained by the Centers for Disease Control …

Dermatology is referred to as a “specialty” for a reason; like cardiologists, ophthalmologists, and the rest, providers receive specialized training that gives them a wealth of knowledge particular to one field of medicine or another. As such, it’s a rare urgent care provider who could appropriately identify themselves as a dermatologist. That doesn’t mean they’re incapable of treating patients who present with many dermatologic concerns, of course—though whether they feel confident enough to do so …