A.  Diagnostic tests such as PCR are used in conjunction with patient symptoms, history, and other information that the provider deems appropriate to properly diagnose and treat the patient.

A.   Comprehensive PCR molecular technology is more sensitive than culture and can reliably detect multiple and slower growing organisms in the specimen – things culture simply can’t provide.  Therefore it is not uncommon for culture results to differ from PCR’s more comprehensive and accurate results.

A.  MedArbor’s PCR technology offers better than 95% sensitivity and specificity

A. Recurrent or chronic UTIs are often the result of multiple organism.  Current data supports that 30% of UTI’s are polymicrobial in nature.  Urine culture is biased towards a single infectious organism based on CFU (colony-forming unit) count, possibly leading to inappropriate therapy.  Some fastidious organisms are difficult or simply do not grow in standard […]

A1. Differentiating between a bacterial infections and the flu is critical because complications associated with Influenza can be deadly in “high risk” patients.  A2. The CDC notes that rapid influenza testing has a sensitivity ranging from approximately 50% to 70% meaning that up to half of influenza cases relying on repaid flu swab test results will produce false negatives. A3.  Bacterial […]

A. Clinicians must be cautious to avoid over interpreting the significance of microbiology wound cultures in their clinical evaluation of non-healing wounds.  Elongated culture resulting allows for the bacterial burden of the wound to change substantially by the time culture results are provided making diagnosis and treatment a moving target.  Molecular biology has proven that […]