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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.
U.S. COVID-19 Markers Show More Declines COVID-19 activity continued to decline in many areas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest updates. Test positivity for COVID-19 was 13.5% last week, down from 14.9% the week before. Hospitalizations continue to decline but remain highest in seniors,...
>> Read MoreWhooping Cough Is on the Rise The number of people reported with whooping cough, a bacterial respiratory illness, has been increasing in the U.S. Reported cases are more than twice as high this year. So far this year, 14,569 cases have been reported to the agency, more than four times...
>> Read MoreDiagnosis, Risk Stratification, and Treatment of Pericarditis Pericarditis accounts for up to 5% of emergency department visits for nonischemic chest pain in North America and Western Europe. With appropriate treatment, 70% to 85% of these patients have a benign course. In acute pericarditis, the development of constrictive pericarditis (<0.5%) and...
>> Read MoreSaline Nasal Drops Shortened Colds in Young Children, Reduced Household Transmission Hypertonic saline can reduce symptom duration in children aged 0 to 6 years by 2 days (a 25% relative reduction) and can also reduce transmission of colds within households. The researchers reported mild and infrequent side effects of hypertonic...
>> Read MoreAre Doctors Missing Cases of H5N1 Bird Flu in People Who Drink Raw Milk? Raw milk from cows infected with the H5N1 bird flu has been shown to contain very high levels of the virus, making it quite risky for people to consume. Emergency departments and healthcare professionals have received...
>> Read MoreFDA Approves First Nasal Spray for Treatment of Anaphylaxis On August 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved neffy (epinephrine nasal spray) for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions (Type I), including those that are life-threatening (anaphylaxis) in adult and pediatric patients who weigh at least 30 kilograms (about...
>> Read MoreA Multicenter, Open-Label Long-Term Safety Study of Rimegepant for the Acute Treatment of Migraine This multicenter, long-term, open-label safety study showed that Rimegepant 75 mg up to once per day as EOD + PRN for 12 weeks or PRN for up to 52 weeks was safe and well tolerated. No signal of hepatotoxicity,...
>> Read MoreIncreased Risk of Dengue Virus Infections in the United States The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to notify healthcare clinicians, public health authorities and the public of an increased risk of dengue virus (DENV) infections in the U.S. in...
>> Read MoreExposure to Air Pollution, Genetic Susceptibility, and Psoriasis Risk in the UK In this cohort study with 474,055 participants, long-term exposure to air pollutants, including fine particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 µm and less than 10 µm, nitrogen dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, was associated with an increased risk...
>> Read MoreUrgent Notice: Syphilis is Rising – Urgent Care Must Respond CDC reports a 72% increase in syphilis cases and a 183% in congenital syphilis cases over the previous five years. The CDC notes “missed opportunities” for timely testing, mainly due to systemic healthcare barriers including medication shortage. Full Access: UCA...
>> Read MoreAssociation of Daily Sitting Time and Coffee Consumption with the Risk of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among U.S. Adults In this prospective cohort multivariable models, researchers showed that sitting more than eight hours a day was associated with higher risks of all-cause mortality compared with those sitting for less...
>> Read MoreCDC Clinical Guidelines on the Use of Doxycycline Postexposure Prophylaxis for Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention, United States, 2024 On June 4, 2024, the CDC released the first national guidelines for doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy PEP). The CDC recommendations are for clinicians to: (1) provide counseling about the risks and...
>> Read MoreHeat Waves Associated with Increased Risk of Preterm Birth in The U.S. A new investigation confirmed the link to early deliveries at a massive scale, in a large cohort study capturing over half of the births that occurred in the United States between 1993 and 2017. In this cohort study,...
>> Read MoreClotrimazole-Betamethasone Dipropionate Prescribing for Nonfungal Skin Conditions Consistent with prior studies, clotrimazole-betamethasone prescriptions were more frequently associated with non-dermatologist visits, potentially reflecting the lack of awareness that it contains a high-potency corticosteroid and poses potential harms associated with indiscriminate use, including adverse effects and resistance selection pressure. For confirmed fungal...
>> Read MoreBurden of Disease Scenarios For 204 Countries and Territories, 2022–2050: A Forecasting Analysis for The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2021 Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. Researchers predict Life expectancy around the world...
>> Read MoreCDC Releases Guidance for Preventing Spread of Infections in Schools to Keep Children Healthy and Learning CDC released guidance for preventing the spread of infections in K-12 schools. The guidance includes everyday actions that schools can take to prevent and control the spread of respiratory and stomach viruses, such as...
>> Read MoreSame-Day Start Contraception Common, Tied to Low Pregnancy Risk Researchers obtained information on contraceptive method and oral emergency contraception use from clinical electronic health records. More than 70% of participants initiated a new method of contraception on the same day they presented for care. Same-day start contraception resulted in a...
>> Read MoreAs Drug Shortages Reach Record Highs, Regulators Weigh Next Steps Drug shortages hit a new high in the first quarter of 2024, forcing patients and doctors to scramble to secure medications. Drug manufacturing quotas only rose by 10%, an amount that may not be sufficient to solve shortage concerns. Full...
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