http://www.aafp.org/news/health-of-the-public/20160205fluantiviral.html
A quick reminder that many people have heard me say ad nauseum but bears repeating this time of year: Do NOT totally rely on a false negative flu swab in telling the patient that they do not have the flu. This maxim bodes especially true for high risk patients (see article).
As mentioned above, while the rapid flu swab is very accurate with its positive results, a NEGATIVE result is untrustworthy (high rate of false negatives). So, when a high risk flu appearing patient comes in achy with a 102 fever and you tell the patient "no tamiflu for you...go pound sand", your scientific dogma may be on shaky ground, especially when they land in the hospital in the ICU (because they are 2 years old with secondary pneumonia).
Trust your eyes and your gut here. I know it is blasphemy to say that in this evidence based medicine world. I place a lot of faith in the old saw of: if I walk in the exam room and the patient is curled up in the fetal position on the exam table due to entire body aches (note flu, unlike typical colds, tends to attack/ache the larger muscle groups in the quads, hamstrings, glutes, lumbar areas-hence it hurts to walk)-then I have a high index of suspicion for the flu, rapid test be damned.
Be careful out there-and watch out for the high risk patients.
