(WJAR) — It’s that time of the year when many people are suffering from respiratory illnesses.
While tests to diagnose flu and COVID help doctors know how to treat patients, when it comes to pneumonia, it can take a few days to figure out if the illness is viral or bacterial. That can make it more difficult for doctors to quickly determine the best treatment options. However, new research at Rhode Island Hospital promises to change that.
“Right now lots of people are coming to the hospital with respiratory tract infections and we don’t know whether it’s viral or bacterial,” Dr. Sean Monaghan, a long-time researcher at Rhode Island Hospital, told Channel 10’s Barbara Morse.
Dr. Monaghan told Morse about an ongoing study at Rhode Island Hospital that aims to diagnose pneumonia within hours instead of days with the use of a simple blood test.
