Practice Management
Patients who test positive for COVID-19 or believe they are infected no longer need to stay home and isolate for 5 days, as per new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines adopted last week. The CDC reworked its prevailing guidance, saying that COVID-19 “is no longer the emergency that it once was,” and people who with COVID-19 can return to everyday activities if their symptoms are mild, have been improving, and it’s been …
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Omicron versus Flu & RSV – Which is Most Dangerous for Children? Take Home Point: In this study, hospitalization rates were highest for patients with RSV than Omicron (COVID-19) in all age groups of children. Citation: Hedberg P, Abdel-Halem L, Valik J, et. al. Outcomes of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Infection vs Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections. JAMA Pediatr. 2023 Dec 26: e235734. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.5734 Relevance: With increasing availability for respiratory pathogen testing, it is …
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A study in JAMA Network Open found people who engaged in higher levels of physical activity before the pandemic experienced lower odds of developing COVID-19 and related hospitalizations from May 2020 through May 2022. In studying patients 45 years or older with 5,890 cases of COVID-19 and 626 hospitalizations, researchers found those who achieved at least 7.5 hours per week of physical activity pre pandemic had significantly reduced odds of COVID-19 diagnosis and hospitalization compared …
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Insights on a number of health conditions potentially triggered by or exacerbated by COVID-19 continue to surface in the literature. Researchers have found a higher risk of digestive disorders in COVID-19 survivors when comparing them to a contemporary group (who lived at the same time as the COVID-19 group), and a historical group (whose data was sourced from a time period prior to October 2019). Analysis of the BMC Medicine study presented in CIDRAP show …
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The JN.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus appears to be more contagious than other members of the Omicron family, driving indicators of infection levels and COVID-19 illness. Even so, this currently circulating variant seems to produce a more mild illness with less need for medical attention. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as reported in JAMA Network shows emergency department visits for COVID-19 are down 21% this year, and the percentage of …
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Urgent care centers and emergency departments (EDs) in Cook Children’s Medical Centers in Fort Worth and Prosper, Texas, are grappling with a sudden surge in RSV, influenza, and COVID-19. According to the medical center’s website, the hospitals are overwhelmed, struggling to accommodate infants with severe RSV cases. Last week, of the more than 800 RSV tests conducted, 29% were positive, while COVID-19 positivity stood at 4%. The medical center’s urgent care centers see about 800 …
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What Should We Do with the Nail? Nailbed Repair in Children Take Home Point: After nail bed repair, discarding the fingernail was associated with similar rates of infection and similar cosmetic outcomes compared to replacement of the fingernail. Citation: Jain A, Grieg A, Jones A, et al. Effectiveness of nail bed repair in children with or without replacing the fingernail: NINJA multicentre randomized clinical trial. BJS, 2023, 110, 432–438 https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znad031 Relevance: Procedures for nail bed …
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How Long Should We Prescribe Antibiotics for Pediatric UTI? Take-Home Point: Children receiving 5 days of antibiotics for urinary tract infection (UTI) had a higher rate of treatment failure that children receiving 10-day courses. However, absolute treatment failure rates were low in both groups. Citation: Zaoutis T, Shaikh N, Fisher B, et. al. Short-Course Therapy for Urinary Tract Infections in Children: The SCOUT Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2023 Jun 26; e231979. Relevance: There have …
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Click Here to download the article PDF. Urgent message: Coinfection with COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens can lead to a worsening clinical picture and requires careful assessment in the urgent care center. Marcia Taylor, MD, MSCR, FAAFP Citation: Taylor M. COVID-19 and RSV: coinfection requiring hospitalization. J Urgent Care Med. 2023;17(10):28-29. Key words: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, RSV, coinfection, pandemic ABSTRACT Patients who present with symptoms suspicious for COVID-19 and other respiratory conditions, regardless of vaccination status, …
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Click Here to download the PDF. Urgent message: As the severity of newer strains of SARS-CoV-2 has decreased, many patients and providers have become less vigilant about COVID-19. Yet COVID-19 remains among the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. Failure to diagnose and, if eligible, treat patients with COVID-19 may result in significant harm. Professional liability is less likely, however, given the current governmental protections in place. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is …
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