The College of Urgent Care Medicine

Urgent Updates are highlights of guidelines from other groups, reviewed by Urgent Care physicians. These highlights represent the actual intent of these articles and how they relate to the practice of Urgent Care medicine.
Â
Motorcycle Helmet Laws Save Lives: Study Shows Universal Laws Increase Helmet Use and Reduce Injury Severity A study comparing North Carolina (with a universal helmet law) and South Carolina (with a partial law) found that universal helmet laws significantly increase helmet use and reduce injury severity in motorcycle crashes. Riders...
>> Read MoreEfficacy And Safety of Epaminurad, A Potent Hurat1 Inhibitor, in Patients with Gout: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Finding Study A recent study found that epaminurad is well-tolerated and effectively lowers serum uric acid (sUA) levels in patients with gout. Among 169 mostly male participants aged 19–70, those treated with epaminurad showed...
>> Read MoreThe WHO Pandemic Agreement – The World Together Equitably The WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted by 124 countries at the 2025 World Health Assembly, establishes a global framework to enhance pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, emphasizing equity and international cooperation. A key feature is the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system,...
>> Read MoreAs-Needed Albuterol–Budesonide in Mild Asthma A recent phase 3b clinical trial, known as BATURA, showed that as-needed use of albuterol–budesonide resulted in a lower risk of a severe asthma exacerbation than as-needed use of albuterol alone among participants with disease that was uncontrolled despite treatment for mild asthma. Full Access:...
>> Read MoreNICU Admissions on The Rise The article highlights a concerning trend: an increase in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions across the United States. This rise is attributed to several factors, including higher rates of preterm births, maternal health complications, and socioeconomic disparities affecting access to prenatal care. Healthcare professionals...
>> Read MoreShould Metformin Remain the First-Line Therapy for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes? Metformin has been associated with improvement in glycemic control, weight neutrality, and low cost as well as low risk for hypoglycemia. However, recent GLP-1 RA and SGLT-2 inhibitor outcomes trials have impacted the guidelines for diabetes management. The...
>> Read MoreEarly Childhood Antibiotics and Chronic Pediatric Conditions: A Retrospective Cohort Study A retrospective cohort study using electronic health records data from the United Kingdom (1987-2020) showed children receiving multiple antibiotic courses between birth and age 2 were more likely to develop asthma, food allergies, allergic rhinitis, and intellectual disability. However,...
>> Read MoreGlobal Trends in Risk Factors for Low Back Pain: An Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study Data From 1990 to 2021 The increasing burden associated with low back pain (LBP) is a critical health issue that demands global attention Local and global strategy and policy urgently need to...
>> Read MoreOptimal Recovery Following Pediatric Concussion In this cohort study of children ages 8 to 16 years, including 633 children with concussion and 334 children with orthopedic injury, children with concussion had lower optimal functioning and females were less likely to show optimal functioning than males up to 6 months after...
>> Read MoreConvenience or Continuity: When are Patients Willing to Wait to See Their Own Doctor? In this cross-sectional online survey, researchers found. More than “half of patients expressed a strong preference to only see their own physician for follow-ups involving mental health (56.8%), chronic conditions (54.6%) or annual checkups (52.6%). Most...
>> Read MoreRisk of Dementia in Individuals with Emergency Department Visits or Hospitalizations Due to Cannabis In this cohort study of 6 million individuals aged 45 years or older with no history of dementia, those with acute care due to cannabis use were at 1.5-fold and 3.9-fold increased risk of a new...
>> Read MoreOral Gepotidacin for The Treatment of Uncomplicated Urogenital Gonorrhea (EAGLE-1): A Phase 3 Randomized, Open-Label, Non-Inferiority, Multicenter Study In this phase 3, open-label, sponsor-blinded, multicenter, non-inferiority study evaluating oral Gepotidacin (two 3000 mg doses administered 10–12 h apart) compared with 500 mg intramuscular ceftriaxone plus 1 g oral azithromycin for...
>> Read MoreMale-Partner Treatment to Prevent Recurrence of Bacterial Vaginosis This open-label, randomized, controlled trial involved couples in which a woman had bacterial vaginosis and was in a monogamous relationship with a male partner showed that the addition of combined oral and topical antimicrobial therapy for male partners to treatment of women...
>> Read MoreMycoplasma pneumoniae infection in adult inpatients during the 2023–24 outbreak in France (MYCADO): a national, retrospective, observational study This national, observational study highlighted unexpected, atypical radiological presentations, a high proportion of transfers to the ICU, and an association between severity and delayed administration of effective antibiotics. This should remind clinicians that...
>> Read MoreSerious Neurologic Events with Seasonal Influenza in Young Children In this retrospective cohort, researchers found an overall incidence of serious influenza-associated neurologic events was 38.0 per 100,000 person-weeks of influenza. The most common serious neurologic event was seizure (34.5 per 100,000 influenza person-weeks of influenza, 95% CI 24.5-47.1) whereas encephalitis...
>> Read More Influenza Virus-Associated Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy in Two Young Children: Case Report Acute necrotizing encephalopathy is a rare but severe complication of influenza virus infection, mainly affecting the pediatric population. Rapid recognition of neurological symptoms and suspicion of a viral trigger, particularly the influenza virus, may be crucial for the...
>> Read MoreClinical Review of Current Best Practices for Tuberculosis Screening, Testing, and Treatment in The Urgent Care Setting Patients may present with needs surrounding tuberculosis (TB) screening, testing, and treatment to urgent care centers. This article describes best practices that urgent care clinicians can follow to ensure you are appropriately testing,...
>> Read MoreEvaluating An Urgent Care Antibiotic Stewardship Intervention: A Multi-Network Collaborative Effort Urgent Care centers (UCCs) have reported high rates of antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections. A quality improvement study comparing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing rates in UCCs after the introduction of an antibiotic stewardship intervention showed reductions in inappropriate...
>> Read More