H1N1 - New CDC Guidelines - The rapid test is not working - Many need Tamiflu anyway

[maroo]

I hope it is ok for me to post this here...

I think many of the people on this board may need this new information.

CDC is now recommending treatment with antivirals ASAP for a large group of people, including many of our disabled children, family members and friends.


I know many people that are sick with flu like symptoms, but the healthcare providers are calling it something else. Many people I know have had a negative flu test, so they are presumed to NOT have the flu and not getting treated with antivirals because of a negative test result.

Please make sure your healthcare provider is aware of the new guidelines. It is being sent out to doctors - but they probably are sick of reading CDC junk and may not see it.




Here are the new guidelines:

The CDC has released an advisory...I have bolded parts of this...

Link to source:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/recommendations.htm


"Recommendations for Early Empiric Antiviral Treatment in Persons with Suspected Influenza who are at Increased Risk of Developing Severe Disease

Summary Recommendations: When treatment of influenza is indicated in a patient with suspected influenza, health care providers should initiate empiric antiviral treatment as soon as possible. Waiting for laboratory confirmation of influenza to begin treatment with antiviral drugs is not necessary. Patients with a negative rapid influenza diagnostic test should be considered for treatment if clinically indicated because a negative rapid influenza test result does not rule out influenza virus infection. The sensitivity of rapid influenza diagnostic tests for 2009 H1N1 virus can range from 10% to 70%, indicating that false negative results occur frequently.

***

Early empiric treatment should be considered for persons with suspected or confirmed influenza who are at higher risk for complications, even if not hospitalized, including:

o Children younger than 2 years old

o Adults 65 years and older

o Pregnant women

o Persons with the following conditions:

· Chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, hematological (including sickle cell disease), or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);

· Disorders that that can compromise respiratory function or the handling of respiratory secretions or that can increase the risk for aspiration (e.g., cognitive dysfunction, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other neuromuscular disorders)

· Immunosuppression, including that caused by medications or by HIV;

· Persons younger than 19 years of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy, because of an increased risk for Reye syndrome.


The bolding was all mine. But I hope this helps someone advocate for treatment with Tamiflu (or similar medicine) for your family and friends. The more people that are treated, the less likely we are to see more deaths from this flu.

 

[blurrycat]

Thank you for posting this. The first doctor I saw was going to dismiss me without tamiflu. Luckily, another er attending took one look at my chart and handled it.

I know some people have been lucky with mild cases, and sometimes people become dismissive when they hear that it sometimes is not very bad. My case was rather bad, but the worst are the opportunistic infections you are left open to.

For instance, my rebound infection was strep. I am now at home with scarlet fever. What are the odds of that? haha

I'm lucky though. I know some who have gotten pneumonia because of being weakened. That is serious stuff.