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Medical City Healthcare, a subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, this week acquired 13 CommunityMed urgent care centers that will become part of its CareNow Urgent Care network, according to a press release. Currently operating 22 hospitals as well as a number of freestanding emergency departments and ambulatory surgery centers in northern Texas, Medical City Healthcare will now have more than 95 CareNow branded sites across the state—including 2 located in Walmart stores. The deal also expands …

A recent post from the Association of American Medical Colleges provides an update on the worldwide issue of antibiotic-resistant infections, including the factors contributing to the problem and some of the methods for solving it. More than 2 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year in the United States, leading to 35,000 deaths, and globally, 1.2 million people die from such infections. In the outpatient setting overall, about 10% of visits result in a prescription for …

In a cohort study of children and adolescents with elevated blood pressure (BP) and/or hypertension, researchers found that as adults, those same individuals had a 16% to 63% chance of returning to normal BP levels. The 2,918 children with elevated BP who were studied were more than twice as likely to have elevated BP/hypertension as adults, according to research published in JAMA Pediatrics. Children with normal BP often sustained it into adolescence, but the probability …

Use of nirsevimab was found to be 89% effective against acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and 93% effective against hospitalization among children younger than age 5 in a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics. The study examined data in 7 academic pediatric medical centers in the United States from 2017 to 2020 and data from the 2023-2024 RSV season. It was only in July 2023—right before the 2023-2024 RSV season—that nirsevimab first became available. …

A new study in The Lancet estimates the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States while also forecasting the trends for America’s long-term future. Researchers found that by 2050, the total number of children and adolescents with overweight and obesity will reach 43.1 million (37.2–47.4), and the total number of adults with overweight and obesity will reach 213 million (202–221). That means a projected 1 in 3 adolescents and 2 in 3 adults …

Although the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remains high, the epidemic could be slowing, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 2.4 million cases of STIs were reported in 2023 with syphilis cases increasing by just 1% after years of double-digit increases. There was a downward trend in congenital syphilis with just a 3% increase for the year, compared with 30% annual increases in recent …