NEW ORLEANS —
At Tulane Medical School, doctors and scientists on the front lines of the coronavirus war say more testing and fast results are crucial.
Knowing if a patient has coronavirus will help doctors administer better treatment, said Dr. Patrice Delavontaine with Tulane Medical School
Tulane Medical School on Wednesday rolled out a new test designed by one of its doctors. The results come back in a day because nose swab samples are sent to a lab on Tulane's downtown campus.
"I think it's reassuring to be able to get tests back within a day and obviously there is a lot of stress that folks are going through," the doctor said.
This comes on the heels of another onsite test that began Monday. Tests prescribed by doctors can also go to another onsite lab that gives results in a day for both Tulane and UMC hospitals.
With both labs, 200 people can get nose swab test results every day.
Tulane isn't the only place with 24-hour test results. Ochsner also has the capability. And, Ochsner CEO Warner Thomas said, on-site testing is making a difference.
"Having same-day turnaround allows us to diagnose and know if someone is COVID positive within a day which then allows us to really think about how we care for them and whether we need to protect our workers in a different way," Warner said.
But testing at these sites is still only for people with symptoms. Doctors said more testing would help.
"We can predict what's going to happen the better we can get a handle on the real mortality rate," the doctor said. "And the better we can potentially isolate folks who may be asymptomatic."
But doctors said it's a step in the right direction.
"I think this is going to be one of the key steps in trying to address this epidemic together with the social distancing," the doctor said.
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