Lafayette General Medical Center Is The First Hospital In Louisiana To Use Genetic Based Technology To Test For Respiratory Disease

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Genetics;  IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 15 Jan 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Lafayette General Medical Center (LGMC) announced it is the first hospital in Louisiana to use a proprietary molecular genetic technology, which includes specific tests that more accurately diagnose respiratory infectious diseases. This technology, called Target Enriched Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (Tem-PCR), allows physicians to test for multiple infections, both viral and bacterial, in as little as four hours. This faster and more precise testing helps physicians create efficient treatment protocols which generally improve clinical outcomes and decrease length of stay. Tem-PCR testing is provided by Diatherix Laboratories Inc., (http://www.diagnostixna.com), located in the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala.

"This is highly advanced testing technology," said David Callecod, chief executive officer of LGMC. "Complex respiratory infections are a major challenge faced by hospitals. For the first time, using a revolutionary nasal wash test, our physicians will be able to quickly and more accurately diagnose a respiratory infection as well as co-infections, which may go undetected using more traditional testing. Our physicians will be able to simultaneously treat both primary and co-infections resulting in more positive clinical outcomes."

"Lafayette General is leading the way in providing patients with the benefits of genetic science," said Dennis Grimaud, chief executive officer of Diatherix Laboratories. "Hospitals throughout Louisiana and across the country are inundated with patients suffering from various types of respiratory diseases, all of which can be more cost-effectively and rapidly identified as well as more accurately coded using this new and exciting technology. The impact on the costs of treatment and the clinical outcomes is significant."

As the largest, full-service, acute-care medical center in the nine parishes of Acadiana, Lafayette General Medical Center's mission is to improve, maintain and restore the health of people in the communities we serve. LGMC is a community-owned hospital, and any profits are reinvested in the hospital for purchasing unsurpassed technology, maintaining a highly trained staff and adding new and improved services.

Diatherix Laboratories Inc. is located in the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala. Diatherix operates as an independent clinical laboratory providing advanced multiplex molecular diagnostic services such as Tem-PCR to identify infectious disease to hospitals and the healthcare community. Diagnostic Network Alliance (DNA) (http://www.diagnostixna.com), with representative offices throughout the United States, is the exclusive US distributor for Diatherix Laboratory. DNA and Diatherix Laboratories share corporate administrative headquarters in Brentwood, Tenn.

Diatherix Laboratories Inc.
http://www.diagnostixna.com