To help patients get tested and treated for the flu, healthcare providers should embrace point-of-care molecular testing — a faster, more accurate diagnostic method, Norman Moore, PhD, director of scientific affairs for infectious disease at healthcare company Abbott, argues in a Scientific American op-ed.
Physicians have traditionally relied on an inexpensive, widely available technique called lateral flow testing to diagnose the flu, where clinicians swab the back of the nose to collect a sample and test it for molecules showing a patient has the flu.
"For the most part, these tests get the job done. But they have some limitations when it comes to speed and accuracy," Dr. Moore wrote. "Molecular tests conducted at the point of care are the way of the future. A clinician starts by swabbing the nasal passages, just as she would for a lateral flow test. But molecular tests provide a more in-depth look by amplifying the sample, boosting accuracy."
Additionally, some molecular tests are faster than lateral flow, which allows physicians to start treating infected patients more quickly with antiviral medication, Dr. Moore said.
A study of 1,500 patients Dr. Moore cited found patients who took a common flu medication within 12 hours of getting symptoms were sick three days fewer than those who waited 48 hours.