Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Hurricane Florence Is Already Here—Will You Be Ready When Disaster Strikes Your Area?

Predictions for widespread destruction of property and threats to human life are everywhere as Hurricane Florence takes aim at the southeastern coast of the United States, with North Carolina and South Carolina expected to take the biggest hit. Unfortunately, according to a new survey released by DrFirst, many healthcare organizations say they lack confidence in their own disaster preparedness. And it’s not because they think they’re immune; 68% of respondents from acute, ambulatory, hospice, and …

Could High-Dose Acetaminophen Be a Good Alternative to Opioids for Acute Pain?

In trying to fight the ongoing, nationwide opioid crisis, researchers are working to find new options that will ease patients’ pain without putting them at risk for addiction. The most recent effort was a study, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, of adult emergency room patients who were given either 1 mg intravenous hydromorphone or 1 g intravenous acetaminophen for acute pain. The primary outcome of this prospective, randomized, clinical trial was between-group difference …

As Volume Goes Up, Quality of Care Goes Down in Pediatric Emergency Rooms

Most children who show up in the pediatric emergency department (PED) have a “regular” pediatrician or primary care physician—but not necessarily access to those physicians at times their parents think it’s absolutely necessary for their child to see a doctor, say the authors of a new article published in Pediatric Emergency Care. This leads to a two-fold problem: First, overcrowding in PEDs and, ultimately, diminished quality of care, according to their data. Second, as is …

Check Cholesterol in Patients with Sleep Apnea

It’s well established that obstructive sleep apnea and dyslipidemia are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Now, new research shows evidence of a connection between the two. A cross-sectional analysis of 8,592 patients in the European Sleep Apnea Database turned up a dose response relationship between total cholesterol and oxygen desaturation index (ODI). Breaking down the total cholesterol finding further, triglycerides and LDL concentrations were predicted better by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) than by ODI. HDL was …

Lawsuit is a Reminder: Be Suspicious of Worsening Infections and Know Local Susceptibilities

A man who reported to a Kansas City-area urgent care center with an open wound on the bottom of his foot—and who ended up losing his leg when his cellulitis worsened and he ultimately developed gangrene and sepsis—is suing the physician who first saw him, alleging that she failed to prescribe the right antibiotic, never cultured his wound, and declined to order any lab work whatsoever. The suit claims the doctor prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics that …

New Data Show More Patients Are Choosing Urgent Care Over the ED

The increase in urgent care visits across the U.S. shows no signs of slowing down—and that seems directly correlated to a decline in emergency room visits, according to an article just published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Informed by data from Aetna, the article notes that urgent care visits by commercially insured Americans grew 119% between 2008 and 2015, at the same time ED visits for low-severity conditions shrunk by 36%. Lead author Sabrina Poon, MD …

CDC Offers New Guidance on Caring for Children with Possible Concussion

Roughly 800,000 children are brought to emergency rooms after sustaining a blow to the head every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clearly, many others appear in urgent care centers—and that segment is likely to grow as parents continue to become more aware that urgent care is often the best choice for many complaints. Now the CDC has released new guidelines on evaluation and treatment of children who’ve sustained a blow …

Back-to-School and Back-to-Sports ‘Specials’ Can Help the Community—and Broaden Your Base

Labor Day weekend can signal a chaotic time of year as families scramble to squeeze in one more summertime adventure—sometimes overlooking the fact that their children have to get a check-up for fall sports or to make sure their immunization history is up to date. Promoting your capability to take care of that on shorter notice than a typical pediatric or primary care office could both help them out and land your operation more repeat …

With Unexplained Genital Sores, Ask About Recent Travel and Sexual History

A woman in the United Kingdom has been diagnosed with a “flesh-eating” sexually transmitted disease that is relatively rare in the UK, and even more-so in the United States—but common in many tropical areas. Donovanosis causes genital and anal ulcers and can destroy tissue. Often, patients first notice small, painless sores that expand slowly before becoming raised, red bumps that bleed easily. As it spreads, it can destroy genital tissue and cause the surrounding area …

FDA Set to Deliver on Promise of New Guidelines for Acute Pain

The Food and Drug Administration has tapped the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to help it develop guidelines for treating acute, short-term pain related to specific medical conditions and procedures. The FDA says its new standard will “build on” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated advisory, which does not distinguish among pain from fibromyalgia, arthritis, neuropathy, or any other medical condition. The FDA’s plan is to be more indication-specific. Another difference: …