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Rapid
Flu
testing
now
available
at
Children's
Hospital
of
Michigan
DETROIT
- As
peak flu
season
approaches,
Children’s
Hospital
of
Michigan
is
prepared
to get
patients
in,
tested,
treated,
and out
of the
emergency
department
faster
than
ever.
Available
immediately
at
Children’s
Hospital
of
Michigan’s
emergency
department
at its
Detroit
location
and
coming
soon to
the Troy
location
is a new
rapid
test
that
will
provide
a quick
and
efficient
diagnosis
for
patients.
In as
little
as 20-30
minutes,
patients
will
know
what
type of
influenza
strain
they’ve
contracted
and can
receive
proper
treatment.
“Physicians
are
seeing
the flu
season
get
longer
each
year and
ultimately,
it’s an
extremely
unpredictable
illness,”
said Dr.
Rudy
Valentini,
Chief
Medical
Officer
at
Children’s
Hospital
of
Michigan.
“Patients
experiencing
flu-like
symptoms
should
seek
care
from a
physician
as soon
as
possible.
Thanks
to this
new
rapid
test,
Children’s
Hospital
of
Michigan
is
excited
to offer
greatly
reduced
diagnosis
time and
more
accurate
results.”
Point-of-care
testing
using
Xpert
Xpress
Flu will
significantly
reduce
turnaround
times
for lab
results
and
subsequently
create a
much
shorter
visit
for
Children’s
Hospital
of
Michigan’s
emergency
department
patients.
Approved
by the
Food and
Drug
Administration
in June,
the test
utilizes
automated
real-time
polymerase
chain
reaction
(PCR) to
detect
influenza
A,
influenza
B, and
human
respiratory
virus.
“The
Xpert
Xpress
flu test
is not
available
anywhere
else in
Southeast
Michigan
right
now,”
said Dr.
Curt
Stankovic,
Medical
Director
of the
Division
of
Pediatric
Emergency
Medicine
at the
Children’s
Hospital
of
Michigan.
“If
you’re
feeling
flu-like
symptoms,
come to
a
Children’s
Hospital
of
Michigan
location
and
we’ll
get you
in and
out
quickly
with the
care you
need.”
According
to the
Centers
for
Disease
Control,
flu
season
in the
United
States
usually
occurs
during
the fall
and
winter
seasons
and
peaks in
the
month of
February.
The CDC
recently
released
figures
showing
between
six and
seven
million
people
have
been
sick
with the
flu this
season
with
approximately
69,000-84,000
people
being
hospitalized.
For more
information
about
what
symptoms
to look
for,
visit
https://www.childrensdmc.org/our-services/emergency/patient-and-family-resources/flu-symptoms-in-kids.
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