Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Outpatient Management of COVID-19 in the Urgent Care Clinic: Administering Monoclonal Antibodies

Urgent message: The approved use of monoclonal antibodies to treat patients who have COVID-19 may signal a shift from inpatient to outpatient care of infected individuals who do not require hospitalization. Urgent care facilities may be ideally suited to serve as treatment centers and to become destinations of choice for such patients. Lindsey Fish, MD Now that COVID-19 has been with us for over a year, we are in a much different position regarding the …

Pretravel Consultations in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: A pretravel consultation assesses the patient’s fitness for travel in the context of anticipated risks associated with their journey. This individualized counseling takes into account not just age or destination, but also general health and other factors such as past travel experience. Given the proliferation of single-specialty travel medicine clinics, with appropriate training and preparation, these assessments can easily be performed in the urgent care setting. Benjamin Silverberg, MD, MSc, FAAFP, FCUCM Citation: …

Managing Concussions in Acute Care

Jordan Wackett MD, MPH, Joshua Kornegay, MD, Craig Rudy, MD The most recent recommendation from the Concussion in Sport Group calls for 24-48 hours of rest and a graded return to activity (unrestricted once asymptomatic)2. Unfortunately, asymptomatic from a concussion standpoint is not always obvious, which can make the new recommendation difficult to implement as patients may remain symptomatic while adhering to rest. Symptomatology is often multifactorial and they may be instructed to rest despite …

Building the Body Up Just to Break the Body Down: A Look Into Black Market Substance Use Among Young Athletes and Bodybuilders

Urgent message: Many performance-enhancing medications not currently approved by the FDA remain undetectable in basic urine specimens collected in the urgent care setting. If there is suspicion of any form of illicit substance use, the inquiry of specific supplements/agents is key, as side effect profiles are often vast and wide. Rachael M. Poff, PA-C and Christina E. Gardner, DHSc, MBA, PA-C INTRODUCTION Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) constitute a class of medication that has become …

Practice Review: Patients Presenting with Symptoms of Odontogenic Infection

Urgent message: Odontogenic infections can pose life-threatening risk when swelling occurs in close proximity to the airway. It is essential that the urgent care provider is able to differentiate cases of relatively straightforward infection that can be managed in the urgent care setting vs true airway emergencies. Amandeep Kaur Bains, BDS(Hons) MFDS RCPS (Glasg); Awais Safdar Ali, BDS MJDF RCSEng; and Pavan Padaki, BDS, MFDS RCPS (Glasg), MBChB, MRCS, FRCS (OMFS) INTRODUCTION While odontogenic or …

Urgent Care Transfers: Why, When, and How

Urgent message: Urgent care is well established as an appropriate destination for many patients whose symptoms are not being limb- or life-threatening. When a truly emergent case presents, however, we need to provide immediate care and assess whether the patient can receive optimal care on site or needs transfer to higher-acuity setting. Deb Rogers, DO and Douglas A. Rund, MD, FACEP, FAEMS Cowboys of medicine? We are able to diagnose and manage almost all complaints …

Injuries to the Upper Extremity Due to Falls on Outstretched Hands (FOOSH)

Urgent message: It is common for patients with injuries to the upper extremity due to falls on outstretched hands to present to urgent care. As such, evaluation, appropriate imaging, and initial treatment should all be within a clinic’s capabilities. Michael Bartuseck, MSN, ARNP, FNP-C, EP-C Introduction Urgent cares centers play an integral role in providing care for patients who have sustained injuries due to falls on outstretched hands (FOOSH). While complex anatomy of the wrist, …

Urgent Care Evaluation of Arrhythmias

Urgent message: Initial evaluation of a patient with an arrhythmia in the urgent care setting can be as difficult as it is critical to the patient’s survival—one key concern being sudden cardiac death, which occurs in roughly 328,000 cases annually. Riaz Fabian, DO Introduction Cardiac arrhythmias are a group of conditions in which a patient has an abnormal heart rate or rhythm. They are caused by any disruption of the electrical conduction system of the …

The Red-Hot Joint

Urgent message: Septic arthritis can lead to significant morbidity if not treated in a timely manner. Bacteria within the synovial space can lead to rapid joint destruction and irreversible loss of function. When patients present to the urgent care center with a red, hot, swollen, painful joint, every attempt must be made to rule out this disease entity to prevent significant morbidity and mortality. Introduction Patients frequently present to urgent care with a red, swollen, …

Acute Compartment Syndrome—An Urgent Care Review

Urgent message: Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is an important high-risk diagnosis to exclude when evaluating peripheral extremity injury. Providers must maintain a high clinical index of suspicion with careful attention to the history and mechanics of injury in an urgent care setting to preclude the devastating, rapidly developing sequela of ACS. Missing a case of ACS may result in significant morbidity—and even mortality. Awareness of both subtle and overt signs will ensure the best care …