Clinical

As temperatures fall in much of the United States new hospitalizations for COVID-19 are expected to start climbing again, according to projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, as reported in Becker’s Hospital Review, a forecast from the Mayo Clinic says we can expect a steep but short-lived 51.5% increase in new cases between now and December 2. It seems likely, then, that urgent care centers will see an increase in patients …

Updated guidelines for opioid prescribing draw a sharper distinction between prescribing for acute, subacute, and chronic pain than previous iterations—but with prescription drugs accountable for more overdose deaths than any other substance, the question of which urgent care patients should or should not be candidates for opioid prescriptions remains as essential as ever. As noted in an article published by Medpage Today, the new guidance promotes a greater degree of individualized care. They’re partly informed …

Viewed by many as “the fifth vital sign,” pulse oximetry is an essential reading in any number of presentations to urgent care. Now new investigations are amplifying a question many have had for years, though: Does the pulse oximeter work equally well with patients of all skin tones? The Food and Drug Administration says it’s going to look more closely at the matter, but in the meantime, according to an article published by Medpage Today, …

An upsurge in cases of monkeypox earlier this year displaced mainstream media coverage of COVID-19—for a while, anyway. Now that new cases have slowed, that attention has shifted back to concerns for a resurgence of the pandemic and an accompanying increase in other respiratory viruses. Urgent care providers should be aware that certain complications of monkeypox linger, though, as noted in an article just published by JAMA Neurology. Such vigilance could actually aid in retrospective …

Urgent care as an industry has made a firm commitment to reducing inappropriate prescriptions for antibiotics. Most often, we picture a clinician resisting patient demands for a script even though they’re experiencing a viral respiratory infection or fighting the urge to write one just in case a culture comes back positive. According to a Medpage Today article based on data presented at IDWeek, a group of hospitals in Michigan found that taking a step back …

With this flu season expected to be harsher than others in recent years, while respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 are also circulating widely, it will be especially important to ensure that as many Americans as possible are suitably vaccinated. Unfortunately, as was made clearer than ever during the height of the pandemic, some racial and ethnic groups are at greater risk for illness and poor outcomes during viral outbreaks. In fact, according to a new …

Just last week, we told you that unusually high cases of respiratory syncytial virus, added to existing concerns over COVID-19 and influenza season, have public health officials in the United States worrying about simultaneous epidemic-level surges of all three viruses. Already, data are pouring in from around the country, raising the alarm that what was first thought to be a potential near-future problem may be an actual present-day crisis. An article published in the Virginia …

High demand, supply-chain challenges, and difficulties sourcing raw materials are combining to leave the United States with an insufficient supply of amoxicillin. According to an article published by Bloomberg, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, and Sandoz are experiencing shortages of multiple dosage forms of the antibiotic (though the greatest deficit is with the liquid form). The net effect is that new orders are being limited to ensure current demand can be met for as long …

Mainstream and healthcare media (including JUCM and JUCM News) have been warning for weeks that the United States could be teed up for a twindemic—simultaneous epidemic-level cases of both COVID-19 and influenza—this year. As it turns out, that could be a less-than-worst-case scenario this winter. A report published by The New York Times says it would be prudent to throw respiratory syncytial virus into the mix of things to worry about in the coming months; …

As JUCM News readers know, infectious disease and public health experts have been saying for weeks that we could see a severe flu season this year, especially compared to the last few when people wore masks and practiced social distancing due to COVID-19. Data are already proving them out, and the fact that they’re emerging so early in the season is raising red flags. Not only that, but some of the states with the highest …