Clinical

Individuals 65 years of age and older or who are immunocompromised are now eligible to receive an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after their previous shot, according to a new authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. At the same time, the FDA rescinded authorization for the monovalent vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer because most people who are not already vaccinated are able to receive a single dose of the …

Incidence of Candida auris fungal infections nearly tripled between 2019 and 2021, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Infection. Even more concerning, as reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the fact that C auris infections resistant to the echinocandins that constitute first-line therapy are increasing, as well, albeit at a slower rate than overall infection. The JAMA analysis raises the possibility that institutional burden on …

One subject that tends to get overlooked in the ongoing fight against acuity degradation in the urgent care setting is incidental findings that require further investigation, treatment, or counseling. Whether a patient presents with lower back pain but is then found to have elevated blood pressure, or bloodwork run for a company physical reveals high cholesterol, they need help sooner rather than later. For all they know, they could have been living with (and incurring …

It’s more of an issue internationally right now, but 18 U.S. states have reported cases of the emerging omicron variant XBB.1.16. While XBB.1.5 is still the most prevalent variant here, the World Health Organization reports that XBB.1.16 has been reported in 22 countries and has become the dominant variant in some of those, already increasing hospitalizations and deaths. XBB variants 1.9.1, XBB, and XBB.1.5.1 are also on the rise domestically, raising concerns that severe cases …

Efficient time management is one of the signature attributes—and biggest draws—of an urgent care visit. A new study published by JAMA Health Forum could be viewed as a caveat for urgent care providers, however, as it suggests that shorter visits to primary care physicians seem to result in more poor prescribing decisions than longer visits do—at least for certain categories of medications and among patients from certain demographic groups. The cross-sectional study, which reflects the …

A new study published by JAMA Pediatrics suggests that pulse oximetry may be less reliable in Black patients with hypoxemia than in White patients, possibly resulting in undertreatment of hypoxemia in some patients. The authors based their findings on comparison of arterial blood oxygen saturation (SaO2) and pulse oximetry (SpO2) in 774 patients (74% classified as White and 26% classified as Black) between the 1 and 17 years of age at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. …

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deemed Candida auris to be an emerging “urgent antimicrobial resistance (AR) threat” in the United States, owing to an alarming increase in cases—including cases that are resistant to echinocandins and other antifungal drugs. Echinocandin-resistant cases have tripled since 2021. A CDC announcement notes that C auris infection is most likely to occur in healthcare facilities and among patients with invasive medical devices. As such, urgent care providers …

As more time and experience accumulate since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inevitable claims over therapies purported to be useful come and go, the idea that ivermectin could be curative has persisted on social media, in the blogosphere, and among popular podcasters. New data published by the Journal of the American Medical Association provide further evidence that there is no advantage to employing even high-dose ivermectin for patients with COVID-19, however. Researchers …

As much of the country starts warming up to Spring temperatures and people head outside to enjoy nature, you can expect a return of patients concerned that they could have contracted an illness from tick bites. Not just a return, actually, but an increase as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that while incidence of tick-borne illness in general has risen 25% since 2011, the increase is especially acute in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, …

We talk about the shortage of healthcare providers in appropriately urgent, though somewhat vague, terms. The fact is that some specialties are having a harder time than others right now, though—one of them being obstetrics and gynecology.  According to a report published by Becker’s Hospital Review, 2023 applications for Ob/Gyn residencies are down from 2022. It goes on to note that numerous hospitals in the United States are closing or have already stopped offering obstetrics …