Emergency Department Visits With an Influenza Test Ordered or Provided: United States, 2013-2022

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db517.htm EDs test more for flu now than a decade ago The percentage of people in emergency departments who get tested for the flu increased from just 2.5% in 2013 to almost 11% in 2022, according to CDC data released today. This doesn’t mean that more people are actually sick, but rather that emergency rooms have been using the tests more than in the past. Fever, cough, nausea, and shortness of breath were all reasons that people visited the ED before receiving a test. Coming in with psychological symptoms didn’t lead to any flu tests in 2013, but that was the first reason for a visit in almost 17% of all flu tests done in the ER in 2022. The CDC report doesn’t present any potential reasons for the increase in testing, but it’s hard to imagine that the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t play any part.