Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Florida Sees STIs Rise 42%

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates in Florida have surged by 42% over the past decade, surpassing levels from before the pandemic and reaching their highest point since 1990, according to Health News Florida. A leading expert in epidemiology at the University of South Florida College of Public Health attributes the rise to factors such as reduced condom use, the popularity of online dating platforms, and illicit drug use. However, it’s also possible that advancements in …

Program Increases Appropriate Antibiotics for Pediatric Infections

A national quality improvement (QI) initiative resulted in increases in appropriate antibiotic prescribing for pediatric infections at 118 US hospitals, as published in Pediatrics. The QI program sought to encourage the use of appropriate antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia, skin and other soft-tissue infection, and urinary tract infection. Program actions included monthly feedback, education, coaching, order sets, and a mobile app with treatment recommendations. Overall, adherence to empirical antibiotic therapy was 72%; definitive antibiotic therapy …

New Antibiotic Approved for UTIs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of the oral antibiotic pivmecillinam for treating uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women over age 18. Marketed as Pivya, pivmecillinam has a unique mechanism of action to treat UTIs caused by susceptible isolates of Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. It’s been in use outside of the United States for decades, but it’s the first antibiotic for UTIs approved by FDA in 20 years. …

Alert Issued For Antibiotic-Resistant Campylobacter Infections

Clinicians should be on alert for cases of antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter infection in men who have sex with men (MSM), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned in an information note on its website. In February, PAHO identified an outbreak of drug-resistant Campylobacter in 13 MSM in Minnesota and several previous outbreaks in the United States and Canada that date back to 1999. Patients may be presenting with diarrhea with dysentery features, the organization says. Here’s …

Antibiotics Don’t Reduce Cough for UC Patients With LRTI

Researchers studying 718 patients at primary care and urgent care sites found that antibiotics didn’t provide any benefit for patients with a cough caused by an acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), as published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Evidence shows that antibiotic prescriptions actually were associated with a small increase in the duration of cough when patients receiving antibiotics were compared to those without. Time until resolution was the same whether the …

Flu Season Winds Down With Lower Than Average Visits in Early April

Outpatient visits for flu like illness are on a steady decline in the United States, indicating reduced activity of respiratory viruses including flu, COVID, and respiratory syncytial virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the first week of April showed that visits for respiratory illness with fever plus a cough or sore throat fell to 2.8%, just below the national baseline of 2.9%. Positive labs for flu were down 7.7% since the …

Accuracy of Pulse Oximeters Needs a Second Look

The Food and Drug Administration is under pressure from attorneys general to update guidance on pulse oximeters to take into account the risk for inaccurate readings when the devices are used for patients with darker skin tones. Pulse oximeters can overestimate blood oxygen levels for patients with darker skin, and research demonstrating the relationship between skin tone and oximeter readings dates back as far as 2005. Proposed updates include options such as warning labels and …

COPD Common Among Asthma Patients

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was found to be the most common comorbidity for adults with asthma, according to a study published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research. Acute rhinosinusitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, dysfunctional breathing, diabetes, pneumonia, sleep apnea, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, respectively, were also common comorbidities. Based in Finland, the study included 1,648 adults with asthma and 3,310 individuals without the condition, following them for 15 years. Researchers …

New Treatment for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved the medication sotatercept, which traps activins that cause constriction of arteries in the lungs, leading to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Sotatercept targets a growth factor that is overproduced in PAH, reducing the risk of blood vessel thickening. The population with PAH is relatively small—diagnosed in 500 to 1,000 Americans annually and disproportionately affecting women between the ages of 30 and 60, according to the American Lung Association. …

Positive Measles Test May Actually Indicate Recent Vaccine

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests that simultaneously test for multiple causes of a rash may show false positives for measles in children who recently had a dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. About approximately 5% of kids experience a rash 7–10 days after the MMR shot. A study of 1,548 syndromic PCR panels from the Tennessee Department of Health found 14 children …