Clinical

Patients, families, and providers who treat individuals who have Alzheimer’s disease were likely encouraged to learn that lecanemab-irmb (Leqembi) received full approve from the Food and Drug Administration because of its potential to slow progress of the disease. Any excitement was soon tempered by warnings that the drug’s side effects could be severe, however—so much so that some patients (such as those on blood thinners) may not be candidates to take it at all. Some …

Evidence is mounting that anchoring bias—getting “stuck” on patient-reported reasons for a visit to the extent that it affects decision-making or narrows the provider’s consideration of actual etiologies—is not only real but also a serious concern in clinical care. A study just published by JAMA Internal Medicine reveals that when patients presenting to an emergency room with shortness of breath included congestive heart failure on their self-reported history, physicians were less likely to assess for …

Consideration of possible causes of anemia in senior citizens would likely include significant illness such as chronic kidney disease, cancer, and ulcerative colitis along with much more benign concerns like vitamin B12 deficiency. Findings just reported online by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest the explanation could be even simpler sometimes. Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial (Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly, or ASPREE) including 19,114 subjects 65 years of …

Urgent care providers don’t necessarily have the benefit of a rich history with the patients they treat. So, it may be puzzling when a patient with too-high blood pressure lists an antihypertensive among their medications. Is it the wrong medication, the wrong prescription, is the patient just not “on it?” Data from the National Center for Health Statistics suggest there’s another possible explanation you should ask the patient about: cost. The NCHS says in 2021 …

The number of people living with diabetes across the globe is expected to double in the coming decades, ultimately exceeding 1.3 billion by the year 2050. As reported by MedPage Today, data presented at the American Diabetes’ Society’s annual Scientific Sessions age-standardized global diabetes prevalence will jump from 6.1% to 9.8% thanks largely to unchecked increases in body mass index and social determinants of health. Limiting complications will require both better care and expanded access …

While it may sound like progress that the rate of new HIV infections fell by 12% between 2017 and 2021, as reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association that actually puts the United States behind its self-prescribed pace to achieve a 90% reduction by 2030. Testing for HIV, advances in treatment, and expanded use of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have all been cited as contributors to the downward trend. Logically, that would seem to …

Depending on which data you put the most stick in, anywhere from one quarter to half of all prescriptions for antibiotics are inappropriate. The Urgent Care Association, health systems, individual practices, and various medical societies have all launched initiative to help curb that bad habit and reduce risk for associated deaths from drug-resistant infections. As reported by UCLA Health, one such initiative, Choosing Wisely—launched by the American Board of Internal Medicine more than 10 years …

Recommended management of concussion in athletes of any level seem to change as frequently as sports seasons do. Here’s the latest: According to a statement published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, while there is no benefit to absolute rest for concussed patients, reduction in physical activity for the first 2 days after the injury is advisable. After that, however, there’s no benefit to that, either. In fact, according to the authors, the latest …

School’s out (or about to be), the days are long, and workers are counting the days until their summer vacation. It’s all fun and games until someone has to go to urgent care. At that point, you and your team need to be prepared for a different slate of illness and injury than you’ve been seeing since last fall began. Slip-and-fall injuries and flu will largely be replaced with bites, rashes, the ill effects of …

Fact: Ketamine (Ketalar) is a legal, approved medication available in the United States as an anesthetic agent indicated for diagnostic and surgical procedures that do not require skeletal muscle relaxation; for induction of anesthesia preceding general anesthesia; and to supplement low-potency agents such as nitrous oxide. It’s also used as an anesthetic agent for animals. More ominous fact: Seizures of illicit ketamine rose 1,100% from 2017 to 2022. Maybe worst of all, a newsletter article …