Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

New York Declares Emergency To Address Rising Measles Cases

Because of rising measles cases, New York’s governor this week declared a State Disaster Emergency, which will remain in effect through November 4, 2026, according to a press release. This is a public-health response measure designed to expand vaccination, testing, surveillance, and outbreak-control capacity. The action specifically extends the pool of eligible individuals who can administer measles-mumps-rubella vaccines and allows nurses to order testing rather than requiring the order to come from a physician or …

Immune Amnesia From Measles Can Last For 5 Years

For a patient with a measles infection, the health effects can last well beyond the acute illness. The measles virus destroys memory B and T cells that help the immune system recognize previously encountered pathogens, producing “immune amnesia,” according to an analysis in CIDRAP. As a result, patients can lose protection acquired through prior infections or vaccination and become susceptible again to bacterial and viral illnesses. Studies suggest measles survivors may lose 11%–73% of their …

Watch For Unique ‘Tick Bomb’ Bite Pattern

Clinicians might keep an eye out for an unusual dermatologic presentation that is known as a “tick bomb.” This unique tick bite pattern occurs when a person encounters a cluster of newly hatched larval ticks, potentially resulting in hundreds or thousands of tiny insects attaching to the skin at once and presenting as a collection of small red bites concentrated in an area on the skin, according to an analysis in MedPage Today that includes …

Fasting Before Lab Testing Should Be More Nuanced: Study

Fasting longer than 12 hours before a lab test generally does not provide an advantage over fasting for 8–12 hours, according to new research. A large study of routine outpatient laboratory testing suggests that most tests are minimally affected by the length of time that the patient spends fasting beforehand, potentially changing perspectives on uniform fasting requirements. As published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed 9.8 million test results from 101,148 adults using laboratory data …

More Kids Are Using GLP-1 Drugs For Obesity

Use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists among U.S. children with obesity is increasing rapidly. A national analysis from NYU Langone Health published in Pediatrics found that among children ages 8–11 with obesity and without diabetes, GLP-1 prescribing was 310 times higher in 2026 than it was in 2019 (when the drugs first began reaching the market), with 20,282 children in this age group receiving these medications during the study period. Most treated children had …

Is Myopia a Disease? Medical Groups Might See It That Way

The American Medical Association (AMA) recently agreed with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) that myopia is an increasing public health concern warranting improved screening in children and prevention efforts, according to a news release from the AAO. Although myopia is not currently considered a disease by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, insurers, or public health programs, the AMA’s support is clear evidence that the disease-model view of myopia has grown beyond the …

San Diego University Offers Clinic After Mumps Outbreak

Public health officials have confirmed a mumps outbreak at San Diego State University (SDSU). Five confirmed and/or probable cases have been identified as of September 18, and all the cases are among student athletes on a single team. The students are no longer considered contagious. In response, the San Diego County Public Health Services hosted a clinic for students to screen for mumps symptoms and also to provide a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine boosters …

Those With ADHD Often Have Gastrointestinal Symptoms Too

A meta-analysis found that people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have significantly higher statistical odds of multiple gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (eg, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.) than those without an ADHD diagnosis. The analysis published in the Journal of Attention Disorders included 23 studies representing more than 1.9 million participants, which based findings on validated symptom instruments as well as self-reported patient symptoms. Overall, ADHD was associated with 48% higher odds of GI …

Medication Kiosks Can Lead To Better Antibiotic Stewardship

A study of urgent care centers published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases found that medication-dispensing kiosks, combined with an antimicrobial stewardship program, could be useful to support antibiotic stewardship principles. In late 2019, a Florida health system installed medication kiosks in 20 of its urgent care centers, providing prepackaged antibiotics corresponding to guideline-supported antibiotic courses. Instead of sending a patient’s prescription to a community pharmacy, for example, the urgent care clinician could send the electronic …

Physicians May Drift Over Time When It Comes to Antibiotic Prescribing

A national study of 31,800 primary care physicians from internal medicine and family medicine residency programs found a connection between residency ratings and antibiotic prescribing during the physicians’ first 5 years of practice. In this study, the competency scores included Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestone ratings across 6 core competency areas: patient care, medical knowledge, professionalism, communication skills, systems-based practice, and practice-based learning. Physicians with higher competency ratings near the end of their …

« Previous

Login to JUCM