Rapid influenza A testing for novel H1N1: point-of-care performance.
OBJECTIVE
The 2009 outbreak of novel influenza A H1N1 reached a pandemic status on June 11, 2009. Early detection is a key factor for management and infection-control practices. Recent studies have suggested a difference in performance of rapid influenza kits for influenza A H1N1. Our goal was to evaluate the performance of the QuickVue influenza A+B test (Quidel Corp., San Diego, CA) in an emergency department setting and determine the most current epidemiologic trends in our community.


METHODS
Results from 1137 samples for influenza A collected between April 8, 2009 and June 30, 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. Results of QuickVue influenza A+B test were compared with R-Mix viral culture and DFA results. Age distribution and hospitalization rates by age group were analyzed to further delineate the epidemiology of influenza A in a suburban hospital.


RESULTS
The sensitivity of the rapid test was 77%, the specificity was 85%, the positive predictive value was 74%, and the negative predictive value was 87%. We found a similar age distribution for positive influenza tests and admissions when compared with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.


CONCLUSIONS
The QuickVue influenza A+B test is a sensitive assay for the novel H1N1 strain of influenza. In our hospital, the group with highest risk of hospital admission was patients aged < 25 years.
Fernandez
Claudia
C
Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Children's Medical Center at Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, NY 11501, USA. cfernandez@winthrop.org
Cataletto
Mary
M
Lee
Paul
P
Feuerman
Martin
M
Krilov
Leonard
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult