Oct. 23, 2009 6:42 a.m.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Humility of Mary Health Partners has advised physicians that its hospitals, laboratories and emergency departments no longer will provide the rapid flu test. The test, which is used to detect seasonal flu, does not detect the H1N1 virus effectively, officials said.##M:[MORE]##

The change was made on the advice of infectious disease physicians and is in line with other health care facilities in northeast Ohio.

Additionally, only very specific groups of patients will be tested for confirmation of the H1N1 virus. All other patients with flu-like symptoms are being treated symptomatically without a confirming H1N1 or rapid flu test. “Our infectious disease specialists and other specialists in northeast Ohio are advising primary care physicians to treat their patients symptomatically or with Tamiflu, depending on the patient’s clinical scenario,” said Dr. Nick Kreatsoulas, chief medical officer for HMHP.

Physicians are treating most patients with flu-like symptoms the same, whether the virus is the seasonal variety or H1N1, he added.

Certain groups of patients with flu-like symptoms are being tested specifically for the H1N1 virus. These include pregnant women, patients being admitted to the hospital for treatment, and children under 10 or those with underlying chronic conditions. “As this flu season progresses, we are making changes to the protocols for treating the various patient populations in order to provide the best possible care to everyone,” Kreatsoulas noted.

For more information, visit the HMHP Web site and click on the FLU icon.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio