Rapid Diagnostics for Upper Respiratory Infections in the Emergency Department

Patients randomized to the rapid respiratory pathogen nucleic acid amplification test (Film Array Respiratory Panel, BioFire Diagnostics), will receive usual physician-directed care plus results from a rapid diagnostic test for 20 common respiratory pathogens. Patients will have a nasopharyngeal swab sample collected and tested during the ED episode of care with results reported in the electronic medical record (EMR) within two hours of sample collection. ED physicians will receive education regarding the rapid respiratory pathogen test prior to commencing the study. During the study, ED physicians will be free to review and interpret the respiratory pathogen test results and make treatment decisions based on their individual clinical judgment without involvement of study personnel.