Spring finally shows up
Happy Spring!
California has crept up on me, and now it's only a few days away! My work week has been hellish and I can't wait for it to be over. Tons of patients, complicated orders, and doctors breathing down your neck about Swine flu makes for a miserable work environment.
There were two specimens sent down for swine flu testing. The doctors don't quite understand how the testing works. During the busy flu season, we run rapid flu tests. Our flu season just ended several weeks ago, so we don't do those test anymore. When there is a low prevalence of flu, it is more likely that positive results will be false positives.
Right now specimens for flu detection are sent for a Direct Fluorescent Antibody test. The specimens are batched and the test is only run once a day, and has about an 80% sensitivity. DFA negatives are then cultured for confirmation. In short, it can take a long time to get the results of the test back. Even if there is a positive, that only means there is a presence of Influenza A, not necessarily swine flu. The specimen has to be sent to the State Lab for PCR testing to confirm that it is Swine Flu. That didn't stop the docs from calling in the same afternoon looking for results.
We were also short-staffed today, which felt like when I first started at the clinic. Not a time I wish to repeat. People grumbling about how others do their job. Can you see why I posted some pretty pictures of flowers? I need something soothing.