Talk:Rapid influenza diagnostic test

Untitled

Rapid tests are less sensitive for 2009 H1N1 influenza than for other strains. Better summary statements about the clinical use of rapid flu test are below:

When Is Use of Rapid Diagnostic Tests Beneficial? •Testing during an outbreak of acute respiratory disease can determine if influenza is the cause. •During influenza season, testing of selected patients presenting with respiratory illnesses compatible with influenza can help establish whether influenza is present in a specific patient population and help health-care providers determine how to use their clinical judgment for diagnosing and treating respiratory illness. (Testing need not be done for all patients.) •Otherwise, rapid tests do not address the public health need for influenza virus isolated that can only be obtained through the collection of specimens for viral culture. Influenza virus isolates are essential for determining the match between circulating influenza viruses and those viruses contained in the vaccine and for aiding in the selection of new vaccine strains. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/diagnosis/rapidlab.htm

---

Typically, cases of influenza are diagnosed without testing if it is the flu season and it is known that the flu has reached the community. If a person has clinical symptoms that are essentially the same as the symptoms of other people with known cases of the flu, then the doctor may make the diagnosis without testing. If it is outside the 48-hour window of antiviral treatment and there is no evidence of severe illness or secondary complications, the person may just be sent home to rest, drink fluids, and use over-the-counter remedies to soothe their symptoms. However, the flu can be deadly and knowing that it is in the community can help doctors minimize its spread and treat patients to lessen its severity if it is diagnosed early, so testing may be performed for these reasons. http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/flu/test.html

Knjiga63 (talk) 15:31, 17 February 2011 (UTC) Paul Hunter

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Dapoei, Mjackels.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 11:57, 18 January 2022 (UTC)