Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Outpatient Baloxavir Demonstrates Fewer Influenza Hospitalizations Than Oseltamivir

According to a U.S. retrospective analysis published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, real-world outcomes suggests that baloxavir may offer more reduction in downstream healthcare utilization among influenza outpatients compared to oseltamivir. The study evaluated electronic health records from 69 healthcare organizations, identifying more than 75,000 treated patients aged 5 years and older who received either oseltamivir (73,899) or baloxavir (1,592) from 2016 to 2023. Across 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-up periods, baloxavir users …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – December 2025

Causes, Management, and Outcomes of Diplopia in the ED Take Home Point: For diplopia, binocular diplopia was the most common presentation to the emergency department (ED), with microangiopathies and strokes being the most common etiology. Citation: Occelli C, Coffin V, Raynaud O, et. al. Presentation, management and outcomes of patients with diplopia in the emergency department. Am J Emerg Med. 2025;96:170-175. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2025.06.024. Relevance: Patients with diplopia occasionally present to ED and urgent care (UC) …

Do Viral Infections Increase Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease?

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 155 studies evaluated the literature on the link between any viral infection and the odds of heart attack and stroke risk. Authors found influenza and COVID infections raised such risks as much as 3-to-5-fold in the weeks following the initial infection, as published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Also noted in a related news release on the study, overall, the findings suggest acute and chronic viral …

Self-Administered Flu Shot Nasal Spray Ready To Arrive On Doorsteps

One year after approval, the nasal formulation of the flu vaccine is now available in 34 states for at-home use for individuals 2 through 49 years of age, according to an announcement. Consumers can order the FluMist nasal spray online directly from manufacturer AstraZeneca after completing a screening and assessment, and if appropriate, receive a prescription for home delivery of the self-administered vaccine. Consumers can also leverage their insurance benefits, according to the announcement. FluMist …

Oseltamivir Reduces Influenza Mortality

For people with hospitalizations due to influenza, oseltamivir treatment was associated with a lower mortality risk, earlier discharge, and lower readmission rates in a large retrospective study published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers analyzed 11,073 hospitalized adults with seasonal influenza across 30 Canadian hospitals from 2015 through 2023 and found when oseltamivir treatment was initiated in the hospital on day 0 or day 1, patients experienced significantly improved outcomes compared to those who had supportive …

Dyspnea in an Asthmatic Patient Following an Influenza Infection: A Case Report

Urgent Message: While patients with asthma will frequently experience exacerbations following viral respiratory infections, the urgent care clinician must be cautious when assuming dyspnea is due to asthma. As dyspnea can be caused by a wide variety of conditions, it is important to maintain a broad differential diagnoses, even in patients with underlying asthma. Tracey Quail Davidoff, MD, FCUCM Key words: Influenza, Dyspnea, Asthma, Congestive Heart Failure, Myocarditis, Diagnosis Momentum Abstract Introduction: Patients commonly present …

Oseltamivir Can Reduce Flu Deaths Even With a Late Start

Seniors age 65 years and older can experience a significant reduction in mortality risk when treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir during influenza hospitalizations, even if they were not vaccinated for flu, according to research involving 8,135 influenza patients that was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Patients who were given oseltamivir had an 18% lower risk of 30-day mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69 to 0.98). The overall mortality ratio …

Flu Trend Is High, May Have Reached Seasonal Peak

The final respiratory illness data for the last week of 2024 (ending December 28) show that influenza is trending ahead of both COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus among children and adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a hospitalization rate of 4.3 per 100,000. Flu’s positivity rate was up 18.7% over the previous week, and the overall percentage of emergency department visits with a discharge diagnosis of influenza was 5.2%—compared to …

Orders for Flu Tests in ED More Than Quadrupled From 2013-2022

The percentage of emergency department (ED) visits that included influenza testing increased from 2.5% in 2013 to 10.9% in 2022, according to a new data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ED visits for children ages 0–5 years had the highest percentage of tests ordered both in 2013 data (8.6%) and 2022 data (23.1%). Among ED visits by adults, the percentage with an influenza test increased from 1.9% to 9.1% for patients …

Rare Flu Strain Sparks Concerns For Treatment Resistance

At least two human cases of “dual mutant” strains of H1N1 influenza have been detected in Connecticut and Michigan, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Genetic changes are concerning because they could reduce the effectiveness of current antiviral treatments. Mutations of H1N1 appear to have 13-fold greater resistance to the flu treatment oseltamivir—the most commonly prescribed treatment for flu. An analysis of the new H1N1 flu viruses with …

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