Case A 20-year-old previously healthy man presents with sudden onset of substernal chest pressure after completing football practice. His chest pain is nonradiating, nonreproducible, and nonpositional. He does not have associated palpitations, dyspnea, or diaphoresis. He reports that he has not had recent upper respiratory tract infections or contact with ill people. He does not have a history of using alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs. He has no family history of sudden cardiac death or …
Read MoreAbstracts in Urgent Care: June, 2011
When Should Diagnostic Imaging Be Used for Patients With Low-back Pain? Key point: With low-back pain, the risks associated with X-rays and MRIs often outweigh the benefits. Citation: Daily POEM: imaging for low-back pain: rarely indicated, often harmful. Available at: www.essentialevidience- plus.com. These guidelines are based on a systematic review and meta- analysis of research investigating the usefulness of various im- aging studies in patients with low-back pain. Based on a meta- analysis of six …
Read MoreAssessing for Life-threatening Chest Pain in the Urgent Care Center
Urgent message: Data show that urgent care centers are becoming a more common destination for patients experiencing chest pain. Immediate recognition of emergent vs. urgent causes may be the make-or-break moment for the patient’s outcome. Jasmeet Singh Bhogal, MD Introduction Evaluation of chest pain always presents as a diagnostic challenge, be it in the outpatient family medicine setting or the hospital emergency department. In fact, urgent care centers occupy a unique position in the equation; …
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