Rapid Flu Tests in Hickory, NC | Urgent Care Walk-In Clinic

Our Rapid Flu Test typically returns results in 15 minutes or less.

Rapid Flu Testing is not only fast but it is extremely accurate when compared to the regular influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) used by many other clinics and doctor offices. Using a nasal swab, it will correctly identify patients with Influenza Type A, 96.3% of the time and correctly identify patients with Influenza Type B, 100% of the time. However, when talking about accuracy of any flu test, you have to take into consideration two factors: Sensitivity and Specificity.

Flu testing guidelines were updated by the Infectious Diseases Society of American in 2018 that recommends and prefers the use of this type of flu testing over rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) for the detection of influenza viruses for outpatients.

Prescription anti-virus Flu Treatments such as Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) or Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) work best within 48 hours of flu symptoms, so getting a fast and accurate result allows our medical providers to treat you in the best manner possible.

The flu (influenza) can cause mild to severe illness. The Flu virus is different from a cold. Influenza usually comes on very suddenly. People who have flu often have some or possibly all of these symptoms:

• fever or having chills (not everyone will have a fever)
• runny or stuffy nose
• cough
• sore throat
• muscle or body aches
• vomiting and diarrhea (this is more common in children than adults)
• headaches
• fatigue/tiredness

Sensitivity measures how often a test correctly generates a positive result for people who have the condition that’s being tested for (also known as the “true positive” rate). A test that is highly sensitive will not generate many false-negative results and identify almost anybody who has the disease.

Specificity measures a test’s ability to correctly generate a negative result for people who don’t have the condition that’s being tested for (also known as the “true negative” rate). A test with a high-specificity will correctly rule out almost everyone who doesn’t have the disease and won’t generate many false-positive results.

When using a nasal swab for influenza testing, our flu testing has a 96.3% sensitivity for influenza A and a 100% sensitivity for influenza B. The platform has a 97.4% specificity for detecting influenza A and a 97.1% specificity for detecting influenza B.

Generally speaking, the rapid flu test that AFC Urgent Care uses is very accurate. It will correctly identify patients 96.3% of the time that have Influenza A, with 2.6% false positives and 3.7% false negatives. For patients with Influenza B, it will correctly identify patients 100% of the time, with no false positives and 2.9% false negatives.