Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Triple Inhaler Approved For Maintenance Treatment Of Asthma

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a fixed-dose triple inhaler containing budesonide/glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate for maintenance treatment of asthma in patients aged 12 years and older, according to the manufacturer in a press release. The single-inhaler regimen combines a corticosteroid and a long-acting beta2-agonist with a long-acting muscarinic antagonist. The inhaler is intended for asthma patients not adequately controlled on dual therapy. Approval was based on phase III trials, which showed statistically significant improvements in …

Large Tuberculosis Outbreaks Affect More Patients Born In The US

During 2017–2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified a total of 50 large tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks in 23 states, according to a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC defines a large outbreak as 10 or more related cases within a 3-year period and notes that the large outbreaks accounted for 1,092 of the 61,993 cases reported during the study period. Cases attributed to large outbreaks were somewhat different from TB cases …

Pediatric Telemedicine Providers Judicious In Prescribing Antibiotics For ARTI

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are common diagnoses among pediatric patients, and a recent study of 449,630 pediatric ARTI visits found antibiotics were prescribed less often during telemedicine visits than in-person visits, as published in JAMA Network Open. Antibiotic prescriptions were written during 46.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 45.1%-48.4%) of primary care in-person visits vs 34.6% (95% CI, 27.0%-42.3%) of primary care telemedicine visits with a difference of −12.1 (95% CI, −19.3 to −5.0) percentage …

Syphilis May Lead To Major Cardiovascular Conditions

Researchers who studied data from 1,469 U.S. adults with a syphilis diagnosis without prior cardiovascular disease found that syphilis was associated with higher rates of death and several major cardiovascular conditions, such as stroke and heart attack, over 15 years. The highest risk occurred for those in late-stage disease. Compared to 7,345 uninfected controls, patients with syphilis had about twice the risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection, a 53% higher risk of ischemic stroke, a …

Amoxicillin Has Slight Advantage Over Amoxicillin-Clavulanate For Acute Sinusitis

In a large observational study of 521,244 adults with acute sinusitis published in JAMA, researchers found outcomes were similar between patients treated with standard-dose amoxicillin-clavulanate and those treated with standard-dose amoxicillin. The study compared outpatient outcomes from 2018 through 2023 for new users of amoxicillin-clavulanate (875–125 mg, 2 times daily) or amoxicillin (875 mg twice daily or 500 mg, 3 times daily). Treatment failure was low overall (3.1%) and did not differ between groups. Only …

Pediatric Cases of Valley Fever Rising In California

In a 25-year retrospective study of pediatric coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) at the University of California Los Angeles, researchers found a rise in the number of cases and in the severity of cases, with numbers surging in the past 3 years. Patients were classified to have either: primary coccidioidomycosis, which were patients that were asymptomatic or had localized pulmonary infection; or disseminated coccidioidomycosis, which were patients with a site of extra-pulmonary disease. Among the 81 patient …

Physicians May Not Recall OAR Clinical Criteria For Ankle Injuries

A cross-sectional survey of 74 urgent care and emergency physicians working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, found adherence to evidence-based ankle sprain guidelines was inconsistent despite high reported awareness of the guidelines, as published in Cureus. While 95.9% of physicians were familiar with the Ottawa Ankle Rules (OAR) that predict the need for radiographs for ankle injuries—and 70.3% reported using them—only 36.5% applied them consistently. Additionally, researchers found just 56.8% of physicians correctly identified the key …

Antibiotics Aren’t The Only Drugs That Increase Risk of C. Diff

Researchers found that antibiotics and other commonly prescribed medications substantially increase the risk of Clostridioides difficile infection, and their analysis shows that more drugs impact the gut microbiome than previously believed, as published in Gut. Recent antibiotic exposure (within 30 days) carried the highest risk. Some agents (eg, nitroimidazoles and intestinal anti-infectives) had particularly high odds ratios (OR), likely reflecting treatment-related bias, the authors say. Lipid-lowering agents (aOR 0.8, 95% CI 0.8–0.8) and aspirin (aOR …

Does Your Patient Really Have Penicillin Allergy? Probably Not.

A large international study found that direct oral challenge (DOC) can be a safe and effective strategy for identifying patients who have a true penicillin allergy. Researchers evaluated hospitalized adults who self-reported a penicillin allergy—a label that historically is attached to about 10% of patients, according to the study presented in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Among the 5,121 patients assessed, 30.7% underwent DOC; of these, 95.5% (95% confidence interval, 94.3%–96.5%) were safely “delabeled,” after assessing and …

As Flu Season Fades, Urgent Care Volume Remains Solid

Now that spring has arrived, respiratory virus season seems to be winding down across the country, according to the latest FluView report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Positive test rates for influenza were 9.8% for the week ending March 28, 2026, trending down as compared to the previous week (11.5%), and outpatient visits for respiratory illness also decreased to 2.6% of visits, down from 2.9%. In urgent care specifically, this month’s flu …

Login to JUCM