Practice Management
Cases of COVID-19 have surged in emergency departments (EDs) over recent weeks, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and surges are now demonstrating upward slopes that could lead to peaks similar to what communities might expect in the cooler months of fall. The weekly average of ED patients with COVID-19 has reached 1.18% in the United States overall but 2.9% in Florida, making the “sunshine state” a leader …
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In a new brief, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine once the updated formulations become available this fall—ideally aiming for vaccination in September or October. A few distinct situations have varying dosing schedules for flu vaccines. Just as one example, CDC said adults (especially those 65 years old and older) and pregnant moms in the first …
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Long COVID is possibly more prevalent than what might be recorded in electronic health record (EHR) diagnostic or referral codes, according to a descriptive study in eClinicalMedicine. Researchers analyzed clinical data from more than 19 million adults in England from November 2020 to January 2023. A total of 55,465 patients were identified with long COVID, based on 20,025 diagnostic codes and 35,440 referral codes. Median follow-up was 2.2 years, and the rate of long COVID …
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Encouraging Shorter Course Antibiotic Prescribing Take Home Point: In this quality improvement project, both education with performance feedback in combination with clinical decision support (CDS) were effective in modifying clinician behavior surrounding antibiotic prescribing. Citation: Vernacchio L, Hatoun J, Patane L, et al. Improving Short Course Treatment of Pediatric Infections: A Randomized Quality Improvement Trial. Pediatrics.2024;153(2): e2023063691 Relevance: There is increasing evidence that shorter courses of antibiotics for the treatment of pediatric pneumonias (CAP) and …
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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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