Abstracts

AI Performs Well in Virtual Urgent Care Visits Take Home Point: This study indicates that an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm was better at adhering to clinical guidelines and identifying critical red flags during virtual urgent care (UC) consultations, while physicians were better at adapting recommendations to changing information obtained during a patient consultation. Citation: Zeltzer D, Kugler Z, Hayat L, et al. Comparison of Initial Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Final Physician Recommendations in AI-Assisted Virtual Urgent Care Visits. Ann Intern Med. 2025;178(4):498-506. doi:10.7326/ANNALS-24-03283 Relevance: This study focused on AI’s recommendations …
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Can Doctors Predict Patient Outcome from a First Impression? Take Home Point: In this systematic review, the first impressions of “sick versus not sick” and appropriate patient disposition had reasonable predictive value for patient outcomes but was not sufficiently accurate to supplant thorough clinical assessment. Citation: Treloar E, Abraham A, Smith E, et. al. Can first impressions predict patient outcomes? Acad Emerg Med. 2025 Mar;32(3):351-354. doi: 10.1111/acem.15053. Relevance: In busy environments such as urgent care (UC) centers and emergency departments (EDs), quickly identifying patients needing more immediate attention is a …
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Which Topical Agent is the Best Choice for Epistaxis? Take Home Point: This study found that oxymetazoline was most effective in achieving hemostasis in cases of epistaxis when compared to tranexamic acid (TXA) and an epinephrine-lidocaine combination (ELC) solution. Citation: Celik T, Altun M, Kudu E, et. al. Comparison of the efficacy of oxymetazoline, tranexamic acid, and epinephrine-lidocaine combination in the treatment of epistaxis. Am J Emerg Med. 2025 Feb 23:91:104-109. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2025.02.036 Relevance: Controlling epistaxis quickly in urgent care (UC) centers is important for minimizing patient anxiety. Uncontrolled hemorrhage …
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Evaluating Interventions for Improving Antibiotic Stewardship in Urgent Care Take Home Point: An antibiotic stewardship intervention was associated with reduced rates of antibiotic prescribing for patients with bronchitis, but not viral upper respiratory infections (URI). Citation: Park D, Roberts A, Hamdy R, et. al. Evaluating an urgent care antibiotic stewardship intervention: a multi-network collaborative effort. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2025; Jan 8:1-6. doi: 10.1017/ice.2024.213 Relevance: Antibiotic prescribing for conditions not caused by bacterial infection remains one of the core challenges for quality of care in urgent care (UC) centers. Many …
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Developing Procedural Mastery With Slit Lamp Use Take Home Point: Simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) intervention improved emergency physicians’ confidence in performing and teaching slit lamp exams (SLE) to other clinicians, but this confidence waned after completing the training. Citation: Hamou S, Ghiaee S, Chung C, et. al. Emergency Department Slit Lamp Interdisciplinary Training Via Longitudinal Assessment in Medical Practice.  West J Emerg Med. 2024;25(5):725-734. doi: 10.5811/westjem.18514 Relevance: Procedural comfort and competence for a wide variety of minor procedures is a core aspect of urgent care (UC) and emergency medicine (EM) …
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