Every year, the epidemic peak flu imposes clogs emergency services. At the Grenoble University Hospital, the emergency department has up to a third of additional patient arrivals during this period (200/210 during a flu period against 150/160 usually admissions). Consequence: the hospital laboratory must cope with an influx of medical analyzes to be carried out.
To facilitate the diagnosis and relieve the emergency room, last winter the Grenoble University Hospital tested the Roche laboratory’s cobas® Liat® device, a small-format machine that allows molecular tests to be carried out directly within the Emergency Department. Thanks to this delocalized mini-laboratory, the doctors obtained the results of the analyzes in 20 minutes, which allowed them to quickly determine which patients should be hospitalized. This test was performed on 200 patients.
To date, this device can perform tests for influenza A, influenza B and RSV (the virus
respiratory syncytial, most common cause bronchiolitis). But tests are under development for other infectious diseases.
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