I was once an RGN (Registered General Nurse) student. I went into nursing to be a missionary, not kill people, so when I found out there were secret plans not to resuscitate patients, and other ways they finished up without the planned resuscitation, I went on Channel 4 TV News in England to try to expose the practices. However I would describe the TV broadcast as a clever cover-up. They actively refused to allow me to quote evidence of a planned resuscitation that did not occur, even though the patient and relatives thought a resuscitation would be performed in the event of a cardiac arrest.
If you want to see just how bad the secret practices were just see the paper that was published by one of the hospitals I worked in, where I made complaints about subjects like "The Hollywood Code" "Light Blue" or "The slow code".
Aarons / Beeching Paper, Fazakerley Hospital Liverpool England, BMJ Dec 1991.
I was once an RGN (Registered General Nurse) student. I went into nursing to be a missionary, not kill people, so when I found out there were secret plans not to resuscitate patients, and other ways they finished up without the planned resuscitation, I went on Channel 4 TV News in England to try to expose the practices. However I would describe the TV broadcast as a clever cover-up. They actively refused to allow me to quote evidence of a planned resuscitation that did not occur, even though the patient and relatives thought a resuscitation would be performed in the event of a cardiac arrest.
If you want to see just how bad the secret practices were just see the paper that was published by one of the hospitals I worked in, where I made complaints about subjects like "The Hollywood Code" "Light Blue" or "The slow code".
Aarons / Beeching Paper, Fazakerley Hospital Liverpool England, BMJ Dec 1991.
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Are Coronavirus Tests Accurate?
Are Coronavirus Tests Accurate?
By Karina Lichtenstein .
on 02/18/2020 2:00 PM.
Source: MedicineNet Health News .
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=228250 .
New cases of the novel coronavirus continue to increase worldwide, with 73,332 confirmed global cases of COVID-19 as of today, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That includes 72,528 cases in China and 804 cases in 25 countries outside of China.
Some have questioned the accuracy of the statistics released by the Chinese government regarding the reported number of cases and deaths due to the outbreak. Now there are concerns about the accuracy of the laboratory tests used to confirm diagnoses.
Reports suggest some people test negative up to six times even though they are infected with the virus, according to the BBC and Chinese media. Such was the case with Dr. Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who first identified the outbreak and was reprimanded by Chinese authorities when he tried to warn others.
Dr. Wenliang developed a cough and fever after unknowingly treating an infected patient. He was hospitalized, testing negative for coronavirus several times before eventually receiving a positive result. On Jan. 30 the doctor posted: "Today nucleic acid testing came back with a positive result, the dust has settled, finally diagnosed," according to the BBC. Dr. Wenliang passed away on February 7 in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
False-negative test results, where patients are told they do not have a condition when they actually do, cause several problems. Patients may be turned away from hospitals and medical facilities when they require care. They may infect others at home, work, school, or in the community. Patients' conditions may also worsen without treatment.
When faced with a highly infectious, potentially deadly pathogen, even a small number of false negatives can have a potentially serious and widespread impact on the larger population.
How Do Doctors Diagnose COVID-19?
Doctors use a laboratory test called RT-PCR to diagnose severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 illness. RT-PCR detects and amplifies genetic material of interest. MedicineNet author Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD notes that "RT-PCR has been used to measure viral load with HIV and may also be used with other RNA viruses such as measles and mumps."
However, RT-PCR tests for the novel coronavirus are not perfect and not always accurate. A recent study in the journal Radiology examined medical records from 167 patients with COVID-19 from Hunan province in China. Researchers found that five patients out of 167 -- 3% of the study group -- who had chest CT scan features suggestive of COVID-19 initially tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR. The patients were isolated and all eventually were confirmed through repeated swab tests to have the infection.
False negatives comprised just 3% of the patient population in this study. However, failure to detect a small number of cases of the potentially deadly viral infection may have wide-ranging effects for patients and others who may become infected.
Why Are Coronavirus Tests Inaccurate?
The study authors note that RT-PCR tests may produce false negatives due to laboratory error or insufficient amount of viral material collected from the patient. Samples that are stored or handled improperly also result in false negatives.
Tests may result in false negatives if the patient is tested too early in the course of infection and there is insufficient amount of virus to be detected. Improper sampling may result in a false negative.
Another potential problem with test kits: Faulty reagents. The CDC recently admitted test kits they distributed resulted in inconsistent results due to a problematic reagent required for the test. They are now manufacturing the reagents using stricter quality control measures.
In the middle of cold and flu season, it is possible that some people who are being tested for coronavirus do not actually have the infection. Symptoms like cough and fever are nonspecific and may occur with many conditions other than COVID-19.
What's the Solution?
In addition to the possibility of false negatives, authors of the Radiology study note that lab testing for SARS-CoV-2 is time-consuming and that test kits may be in short supply due to the rising number of infections.
So, what's the solution? Doctors in Hubei recently started diagnosing COVID-19 clinically based on patients' symptoms and lung imaging. These cases are reflected in the global tally of infected individuals. Clinically-diagnosed cases account for the approximately 15,000 new cases reported by China last week.
The study authors note typical CT findings can help medical personnel with early screening of suspected cases. Lung imaging may also help predict potential severe complications of the illness.
The authors note that early detection and isolation are essential tools in fighting the novel coronavirus. They recommend isolation and repeat swab tests for those who have symptoms of the illness and characteristic chest CT findings despite negative RT-PCR tests.
How Many People Really ARE Infected?
Many factors are likely to confound the real number of those who have contracted or died from SARS-CoV-2. The inclusion of clinically diagnosed cases of COVID-19 may further muddle the issue. Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia told Science Media Centre that previously suspected cases of the illness are now considered confirmed cases even though some may be caused by illnesses other than COVID-19. Translation: Clinical diagnosis may lead to overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis in some cases.
Professor Hunter calls for consistency in case definitions. That is what is needed to get an accurate picture of the extent of the outbreak and the true number of those who have been infected or died. Accurate numbers also help determine the potential danger for the rest of the world.
Insufficient test kits, inaccurate test kits, changing definitions of what constitutes a confirmed case of COVID-19, and overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of the illness make it difficult to determine the real number of those affected. Accurate diagnosis is necessary so that hospitals and resources are allocated to real cases.
Monitor for Symptoms.
MedicineNet author Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD said COVID-19 causes flu-like symptoms that worsen to fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. "Complications may include high fever, severe cough, difficulty breathing, pneumonia, organ failure, and death," he states.
"People may prevent or lower the risk of this viral infection by good hygiene, avoiding contact with infected people, not going into an outbreak area, and by leaving an outbreak zone," Dr. Davis concludes.
Anyone who has flu-like symptoms should reach out to their health care team for proper evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment.
notes:
My view of those who say "The tests are inaccurate, yes, because the tests miss people who have Covid-19" as if this refutes the fact the tests are prone to false positives is:
1) By not detecting Covid-19 they mean if they test someone half a dozen times, and they finally get a bare minimum detection on the 7th attempt, the test had failed thus far, but in fact the virus is in low viral load, and detection 35 trillion replications on cycle 45 (and saying the person when they die will now be a Covid-19 death statistic) when it should have stopped the cycles at 35 is entirely unacceptable. That is - is there such a thing as a detection with this test that simply proves low viral load? Or is this why the BBC suddenly changed ALL the statistics in one day and started saying "died with Covi-19" not "died of Covid-19" ?
2) If the Test repeatedly fails by the rising phase being corrupted by "noise" from the sample, they seem to think saying "It can miss detecting Covid-19" is a fix for that criticism. In fact even if they were right (they are very often wrong because all the 45th cycle shows is often low viral load) it just means that the test if failing left, right and center in every way - they are just adding to how bogus, fake, false, inaccurate, say it as you want, the RT-PCR Tests really are.
unique symptoms :
One interesting thing I saw was a video implying that you can tell a Covid-19 death because the patient will have blood clots, as if this is a unique characterizing symptom of Covid-19. The fact that Covid-19 patients are restricted so much in movement than a flu patient may indicate this is causing blood clots in them (??) Could restricting a patient from moving be a contributing factor in their death, as it also stops fluid being removed from the lungs.
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