Role of Laboratory Diagnosis
Influenza surveillance information and diagnostic testing can
aid clinical judgment and help guide treatment decisions. In some
surveys, 60%–69% of practitioners reported testing patients for
influenza during the influenza season (88,89). The accuracy of
clinical diagnosis of influenza on the basis of symptoms alone is
limited because symptoms from illness caused by other pathogens
can overlap considerably with influenza (80–87) (see Clinical Signs
and Symptoms of Influenza).