Clinical Feature Articles

Urgent message: The approved use of monoclonal antibodies to treat patients who have COVID-19 may signal a shift from inpatient to outpatient care of infected individuals who do not require hospitalization. Urgent care facilities may be ideally suited to serve as treatment centers and to become destinations of choice for such patients. Lindsey Fish, MD Now that COVID-19 has been with us for over a year, we are in a much different position regarding the treatment of this illness. While many of the initial therapeutics were focused on inpatient, specifically …
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Urgent message: A pretravel consultation assesses the patient’s fitness for travel in the context of anticipated risks associated with their journey. This individualized counseling takes into account not just age or destination, but also general health and other factors such as past travel experience. Given the proliferation of single-specialty travel medicine clinics, with appropriate training and preparation, these assessments can easily be performed in the urgent care setting. Benjamin Silverberg, MD, MSc, FAAFP, FCUCM Citation: Silverberg B. Pretravel consultations in the urgent care setting. J Urgent Care Med. 2021;15(7):13-20. INTRODUCTION …
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Urgent message: Many performance-enhancing medications not currently approved by the FDA remain undetectable in basic urine specimens collected in the urgent care setting. If there is suspicion of any form of illicit substance use, the inquiry of specific supplements/agents is key, as side effect profiles are often vast and wide. Rachael M. Poff, PA-C and Christina E. Gardner, DHSc, MBA, PA-C INTRODUCTION Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) constitute a class of medication that has become increasingly popular over the past decade. Their popularity likely stems from the nonsteroidal component the …
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Urgent message: Odontogenic infections can pose life-threatening risk when swelling occurs in close proximity to the airway. It is essential that the urgent care provider is able to differentiate cases of relatively straightforward infection that can be managed in the urgent care setting vs true airway emergencies. Amandeep Kaur Bains, BDS(Hons) MFDS RCPS (Glasg); Awais Safdar Ali, BDS MJDF RCSEng; and Pavan Padaki, BDS, MFDS RCPS (Glasg), MBChB, MRCS, FRCS (OMFS) INTRODUCTION While odontogenic or “dental” infection is a subject scarcely covered in medical training, dental-related presentations worldwide are on …
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Urgent message: Complaints of ear pain in children are among the most common presentations in the urgent care setting. While acute otitis media and acute otitis externa are high on the list of possible causes, it is essential that the urgent care provider be prepared to differentiate these from other possible etiologies. Elizabeth Flasch, MSN, APNP, PNP; Sadia Ansari, MD; Timothy Martin, MD Citation: Flasch E, Ansari S, Martin T. If not otitis externa…then what? J Urgent Care Med. 2021;15(5):11-15. INTRODUCTION Ear pain is one of the most common presentations …
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