Early in the fall of 2009 a colleague evaluated a 22-month-old boy. The patient was afebrile when examined, but his mother brought him in because at 1:30 am, he had developed a temperature of 38.4°C and appeared uncomfortable, experiencing a number of crying spells. She gave acetaminophen at 2 am and again at 6 pm. At the time of the visit, the boy was comfortable and smiling. Your colleague had seen the patient's 5-year-old sister last week and had diagnosed group A Streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis. Because of the recent household case of GAS pharyngitis, your colleague obtained a rapid test for the boy, which yielded negative results, and a backup throat culture. She treated the 22-month-old with oseltamivir in case he had a novel influenza A (H1N1) viral infection. You ask your colleague why she did not use the rapid influenza diagnostic test (RIDT) to detect influenza viral...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
May 2010
