New Technology in the Fight Against Pneumonia
Saving Patient Lives with Rapid Pneumonia Testing
Streptococcus pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila pose a severe threat of morbidity and mortality, with acute symptoms that include shortness of breath and chest pain. High-risk cases are known to result in respiratory failure, sepsis, pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis.(1)
Consequently, “Pneumonia is the world’s leading cause of death among children under five years of age, accounting for 16% of all deaths of children” and “killing approximately 2,400 children a day in 2015" according to the American Thoracic Society.(2)
In the case of L. pneumophila, 90% of patients often regress with the development of Legionnaire’s Disease, which is estimated to afflict 10,000 to 18,000 people per year.(3) A follow-up study of 122 patients who had survived the disease found a long-term persistence of fatigue (75%), neurological symptoms (66%) neuromuscular symptoms (63%), and increased risk of lung disease in children. These long-term effects are expected to last for several months or even years.(4)
S. pneumoniae, on the other hand, causes 150,000 U.S. hospitalizations annually, with a case-fatality rate of 5-7%.(5)
The issue is further complicated with the rise in antibiotic resistance due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, such as issuing improper treatment when prescribing antibiotics for viral-causing cases of pneumonia.(2)
In essence, a patient’s survival may depend on the difference between rapid and prolonged diagnostic testing, and the difference between efficiency and inadequacy.
In assisting health care professionals save lives and treat patients, while simultaneously ruling out common and deadly causes of bacterial pneumonia, Hardy Diagnostics is honored to distribute ImmuView®.
This product is unique, in that it is the only antigen test that is able to identify both infectious bacterial agents simultaneously, utilizing a urine specimen. (6) Test results are available in 15 minutes, offering confident and rapid urinary detection of both Legionnaires’ Disease and S. pneumoniae serogroup 1. ImmuView® requires no equipment or special technologist expertise.
Urinary antigen tests are recommended by The Infectious Disease Society of America/American Thoracic Society due to same-day results, increased sensitivity/specificity over culture methods, and urine availability over sputum samples.(7) All of these factors improve diagnostic yield by 23-39%; with ImmuView® offering easy-to-read, immunochromatographic assay results.(7,8)
Our collective work in offering ImmuView® makes a difference in the vitality of patients around the world. For that reason, we are inspired and grateful to continue to fulfill our mission of distributing products for the prevention and diagnosis of disease.
Don't assume it's viral pneumonia
Hardy Diagnostics is proud to announce our upcoming webinar in partnership with SSI Diagnostica discussing co-infections and the benefits of testing for both viral and bacterial infection upon admission of a patient with pneumonia.
