Rangaraj Selvarangan
Keynote: Virol-mycol
The goal of the clinical laboratory is to provide rapid and accurate test result for influenza to assist the clinician in patient management. This lecture will provide an overview of several clinical laboratory tests currently available for detection of influenza from respiratory specimens. The strengths and weaknesses of these clinical tests will be discussed. Rapid antigen tests for influenza continue to be used widely in outpatient testing despite inadequate sensitivities. It is important to recognize several of the pre-analytical, analytical and post analytical factors that adversely impact the performance of these tests. Newer molecular based detection methods capable of producing rapid and accurate test results for influenza have been approved for clinical testing. The implementation of these tests in routine testing for influenza requires careful consideration to reduce cost and improve potential impact on patient care
Rangaraj Selvarangan is director of microbiology laboratory and associate professor in department of pathology, University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine. He completed his PhD in Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas in 1994-2000. His main research interest in development of rapid molecular tests for laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases.
