Clinical

With the mainstream (and medical) media focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be easy to overlook the fact that everyday illness and injuries still occur. With most of the country experiencing winter temperatures, for example, that may be especially true of cold weather-related complaints right now. As noted in a report aired on KSDK TV in Missouri, urgent care will likely be the right setting for many such patients. That story featured quotes from …

Respiratory sequelae may not be the only (or even the most dangerous) consequence of COVID-19 infection in patients with hypertension, atrial fibrillation, or any condition that puts them at elevated risk for ischemic stroke. According to data presented at the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans, as reported by Medscape, that risk is “significantly elevated” in the 3 days immediately following infection. The data were drawn from assessment of the cases of more than 19,000 …

Patients who receive a COVID-19 booster shot after having completed the first one- or two-dose regimen of the vaccine have roughly 4 months before protection from that shot starts to wane, according to the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest COVID-19 information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An Early Release article published by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report notes specifically that “Vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19–associated …

Both anecdotal and research-based evidence has indicated that the Omicron variant of COVID-19, while more transmissible, is less likely to lead to hospitalization and death. As time goes on and real-world data accumulate, though, it appears the picture is more complicated. An article published in The Washington Post notes that the number of daily deaths has risen to a level higher than it was last spring when the Delta variant dominated. The hardest-hit populations have …

The general public’s concerns about patients with COVID-19 tend to focus on the respiratory effects of the virus. Thrombotic events can endanger patients during and after related hospitalization, however, indicating that urgent care providers need to be aware of and vigilant for signs that recently discharged patients could fall prey to venous thromboembolism and other events. According to an article just published by The Lancet, patients who received rivaroxaban 10 mg/day for 35 days experienced …

In spite of major public information campaigns on the safety and lifesaving capability of the COVID-19 vaccines, only around half of American are fully vaccinated (meaning they’ve received the full complement of a one- or two-dose vaccine and a booster shot). And only 80% have gotten their standard doses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, getting at least some more patients to comply with vaccination guidelines may take something quite simple: …

In spite of significant advances in many aspects of the medical community’s approach to COVID-19, patients continue to be hospitalized and die from the virus. In the vast majority of cases, though, the literal difference between life and death appears to come down to one factor that is under the patient’s control: immunization. In her latest press briefing, Rochelle Walensky, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that Americans who are …

Any notions that the declining case load indicates we’re nearly out of the COVID-19 woods should be dispelled with news that the BA.2 sublineage of the Omicron variant may be the most transmissible yet. An article published by MedPage Today, drawn from multiple sources in the United States and the United Kingdom, revealed that cases related to BA.2 were doubling every 4 days, with a 120% “growth advantage” over the original version of Omicron—which at …

New cases of COVID-19 are falling across the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reports from multiple state health departments. The same is holding true for hospitalization rates—with the exception of the unvaccinated. This has proven to be especially true during the Omicron surge, according to new data from the CDC. In fact, being fully vaccinated (including both the initial vaccine dosage and a booster shot) has been found to …

A few months ago, we shared news about a study indicating that the threat of myocarditis was greater for patients who got COVID-19 than for people who received a COVID vaccine and did not become infected. Now a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association raises new questions about a possible connection. Analysis of 1,626 cases of myocarditis showed rates were increased in vaccinated patients across age and sex strata, but …