Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Need Incentive to Push Flu Shots? CDC Says 80,000 Died Last Season

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released its official estimate of the toll of last year’s flu season: An estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and related complications—the highest death toll in over 40 years. Public health experts usually consider it a “bad year” when flu-related mortality hits the 20,000 mark, according to an interview CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD gave to the Associated Press. The severity was due to a particularly harsh …

The Approach to the Hypertensive Patient in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Previously undiagnosed hypertension is common among ambulatory patients, and urgent care providers are often the first to recognize and diagnose this condition. Initiating treatment, testing, and providing patient education and follow-up are well within the scope of urgent care practice and help ensure positive outcomes. Being attentive to the presentation and care of hypertensive emergencies is also paramount. Taylor Fischer MMS, PA-C and Rebecca L. McClough, MPAS PA-C Hypertension (HTN) affects …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – September 2018

WHO Announces ICD-11, Coming Next Year Key point: New set will reflect current terminologies and classifications, integrate more smoothly with new technologies. Citation: World Health Organization. WHO Releases New International Classification of Diseases (ICD 11). June 18, 2018. Available at: http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/18-06-2018-who-releases-new-international-classification-of-diseases-(icd-11). Accessed August 14, 2018. ICD-10 was released in 2015, but according to the World Health Organization (WHO) we can already expect the next revision, ICD-11, sometime early in the next decade. ICD-11 is supposed …

JUCM Webinars Archive

April 24, 2024: Updates on Tuberculosis in Urgent Care, Lindsey Fish, MD. January 11, 2024: Rapid Antigen Testing During Respiratory Season in Urgent Care, Michelle Prickett, MD. October 27, 2023: 2023/2024 Respiratory Season – What to Expect in Urgent Care, Lindsey Fish, MD. June 7, 2023: More STI Patients May Be Heading Your Way. Are You Up to Date on the Guidelines? Ina Park, MD. March 8, 2023: Updates on Influenza and COVID-19 – Trends …

Patients Trying to Rescue Wildlife May Need Evaluation and Treatment for Disease

The case of a woman in Colorado who played Good Samaritan to an animal she was concerned about, only to later be diagnosed with rabies, serves as a reminder that any interaction with wildlife can carry risks for disease that could require immediate treatment. For clinicians, that means remaining vigilant and asking the right questions when patients present with symptoms that may seem to appear without explanation. The Colorado woman was concerned about the welfare …

Approach to Fever and Drooling in Infants and Toddlers

Urgent message: Typical drooling is no cause for alarm in infants and toddlers. However, excessive drooling accompanied by fever or other various red flags could be signs of more serious concerns such as retropharyngeal abscess, Ludwig angina, or upper airway obstruction. Recognition should trigger a thorough evaluation by the urgent care provider. Katherine P. Dureau, MD CASE A 24-month-old previously full-term and vaccinated male presents to an urgent care center with 24 hours of fever …

CDC: Antibiotics Are Still Being Overprescribed for Respiratory Infections—Including Flu

Far too many prescriptions are being written for patients with acute respiratory infections, including influenza, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 41% of antibiotic prescriptions for ARIs were deemed “inappropriate” by the CDC. In addition, despite published guidelines, vigorous public awareness campaigns, and missives to prescribers, nearly 30% of patients who tested positive for viral flu infection were prescribed antibiotics. The data, published in JAMA …

Last Flu Season Was the Deadliest Ever for Children—and Most Victims Weren’t Vaccinated

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that the 2017-2018 flu season saw 172 children die from influenza—the most recent being just a week ago. It’s the deadliest flu season ever for children, a record made all the more tragic by the fact that 80% of the children who died were not vaccinated against the flu, according to the CDC. In addition to the flu being especially severe, it remained active in every …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – May 2018

Factors Influencing Provider Efficiency—or Inefficiency—in the ED Key point: Emergency department study on provider efficiency has relevance to urgent care. Citation: Bobb MR, Ahmed A, Van Heukelom P, et al. Which practices make for efficient emergency department providers? Acad Emerg Med. December 18, 2017. [Epub ahead of print] This mixed-methods study published in Academic Emergency Medicine identified five practices/behaviors that increased provider efficiency in the emergency room and two practices that did not. What makes some …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – March 2018

Confirmed Flu Ups Short-Term Risk for MI Key point: Patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza are almost six times more likely to be admitted for acute myocardial infarction (MI) in the following 7 days. Citation: Kwong JC, Schwartz KL, Campitelli MA, et al. Acute myocardial infarction after laboratory-confirmed influenza infection. N Engl J Med. 2018;378(4):345-353. Results of a cohort study published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza were almost six …