Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

ACIP Adult Vaccine Update Is a Reminder: COVID-19 Doesn’t Eclipse the Need for ‘Other’ Vaccines

With seemingly all eyes focused on COVID-19 for the past 2 years, patients (and even urgent care providers) could be forgiven for “forgetting” that there are countless other infectious diseases existing in the world. They’re out there, though—and release of the 2022 immunization schedule update from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be a reminder for urgent care providers to ask patients if they’re up to …

Don’t Get Caught by Surprise—Multiple Factors Point Toward Another U.S. COVID-19 Surge

Signs are emerging that our collective celebratory spirit over the decline in COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations and deaths could be short-lived. Parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe—the same regions to serve as a precursor to the United States’ own descent into pandemic pandemonium 2 years ago—are all seeing an increase in cases at present. Parts of China and South Korea have already returned to lockdown status, in fact. Socially, presumed driving forces include abandonment …

Be Alert for Nonphysical Symptoms Starting to Emerge in the Wake of COVID-19 Infection

We’ve known for a while that patients who’ve been infected with COVID-19 can experience breathing difficulties and other complaints long after they’ve recovered from the illness itself (though how long those could last remains to be seen). What is just coming to light, however, are possible extended effects on a patient’s mental state and cognitive functioning. And it goes way beyond “COVID fog.” According to an article published by Lancet Public Health, patients who experienced …

Follow-Up: The Jump in Sexually Transmitted Disease Has Already Begun—and Urgent Care Is on the Front Line

Just last week, we shared the news that freedom from masking and other measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 infection is expected to usher in an increase in the rate of sexually transmitted infection. Now Baptist Health South Florida reports that spring breakers visiting the area are already driving up visits associated with concerns for STIs. In a post on its website, BHSF encourages patients to seek assessment and treatment as soon as they’re …

As the U.S. Continues to Open Up More, Are You Prepared to See More Patients with STIs?

Being freed from pressure to social distance and, more and more now, from being required to wear a mask in public spaces is reopening a lot of doors for people who’ve been isolated for too long. It’s natural to assume that, at least for some portion of the population, we could see an uptick in rates of sexually transmitted infection. Whether coincidentally or by design, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest update on …

Take Note: New Data Reveal Who Is Most Likely to Write Too Many Antibiotic Scripts

There has been a concentrated effort over the past few years to raise awareness of overprescribing of antibiotics. As you know, it’s not just a matter of spending unnecessarily on drugs that aren’t called for, but also a risk to public health due to growing antibiotic resistance. And yet, every year new data seem to emerge indicating that this problem is just not going away. Now a study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report …

Update: Subvariant BA.2, Not Omicron Overall, May Be the Culprit in Disproportionate Deaths

Just last week we shared the odd phenomenon that while many patients infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have escaped serious illness, daily deaths have increased since it became the dominant type of SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in patients 75 years of age and older. Now preliminary data released by BioRxiv indicates that it might not be Omicron so much as its recently discovered subvariant BA.2 that’s to blame. The researchers found that hamsters infected …

Update: COVID-19 Vaccination Does More Than Minimize Risk for Infection and Severe Illness

Patients who opt to receive the full complement of COVID-19 vaccine not only lower their risk for infection or serious illness if they do wind up getting sick, but also receive extra protection against long COVID, according to the results of a study released by the U.K. Health Security Agency. The report drew data from 15 studies in the United Kingdom and around the world. Seven of those studies looked at whether vaccination against COVID-19 …

Skip the Chatter and Focus on the Research When It Comes to Ivermectin

From Facebook rants to podcasts hosts to outlier physicians, there is a vocal minority of Americans who believe that ivermectin is a viable and underutilized therapy for patients with COVID-19. As is most often the case, that does not necessarily reflect the best evidence-based practice. JAMA Internal Medicine just published an article that could be helpful in separating fact from misinformation and disinformation. The study on which the article was based randomized subjects to receive …

Lower Temperatures Mean Higher Incidence of Slip-and-Fall Injuries. Are Your Prepared?

With the mainstream (and medical) media focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be easy to overlook the fact that everyday illness and injuries still occur. With most of the country experiencing winter temperatures, for example, that may be especially true of cold weather-related complaints right now. As noted in a report aired on KSDK TV in Missouri, urgent care will likely be the right setting for many such patients. That story featured quotes from …

Login to JUCM