A 'cold' may not be so common anymore
MIAMI - Got a stuffy nose and a cough? If you go to urgent care or ER, chances are that you may be able to find out exactly what type of germ is making you sick, thanks to newer tests that don't look for just one pathogen at a time but sometimes screen for 18 to 20 viruses and bacteria.
The use of these so-called multiplex tests has become more common in recent years. They were especially handy last fall and winter when the US was contending with surges of at least three respiratory infections at the same time: Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus, and the flu.
They help doctors in busy settings make faster diagnoses, but experts say they can also be a mixed blessing. On one hand, you may be able to identify exactly which virus or viruses are making you sick. On the other, it may not do you or your doctor much good, since most viruses don't have any specific treatments.
Testing may not change treatment
Since testing for Covid has made swabbing your sniffles commonplace, many patients are more likely to want to know what bug they have.
"So we have the ability now to put names on things, so I think it has changed," said Dr. Preeti Milani, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Michigan. "I do feel that Covid has changed that paradigm a bit."
Multiplex tests aren't available everywhere. Doctors are more likely to order them in settings such as emergency departments or urgent care clinics where they're trying to quickly get information to guide care.
Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics, two of the largest commercial lab testing companies in the United States, confirm that they are getting more orders from doctors for multiplex tests since 2019, although neither would release exact numbers.
Tests for certain infections, particularly the flu and Covid-19, are still warranted in many cases, Milani says, especially when those viruses are known to be circulating in your area.
"I do feel that a Covid diagnosis is an important one, because we handle it differently. We have treatments, and those treatments are underused by people who can benefit from them," she said.
Covid is rarely serious for children, but knowing that they have it may help you protect other family members who might be more vulnerable, such as grandparents.
And certain people may benefit from multiplex tests, she says, if they have underlying medical conditions that affect their immune function. In those cases, the test results might change how doctors manage the illness.
Studies have found that multiplex testing may have limited utility otherwise.
Because they can test for both viruses and bacteria, fans of the tests assert that they could help cut the use of unnecessary treatments, such as prescribing antibiotics - which kill bacteria - for a viral illness.
But a recent study conducted by the Children's Hospital of Colorado found that wasn't the case. Among 931 children who were given rapid respiratory panel tests in the emergency department, the half of doctors who were given their patients' test results were just as likely to prescribe antibiotics as those who were not shown the results. Kids whose doctors knew their respiratory panel results also faced longer ER stays and were more likely to be admitted to the hospital.
"In the majority of people, it will not change your management. And, frankly, it's probably a waste of a visit," Milani said.