Hospital emergency rooms across Michigan are dealing with a surge in respiratory patients, mostly with influenza.
The surge in flu cases is not unusual, occurring normally as the illness runs its course during the winter months. But that knowledge is not making it easier for ER doctors and nurses having to triage a larger than normal patient load.
“About ten percent of the total cases in the emergency room have been influenza,” said Dr. Matthew Sims, the director of infectious diseases research for Corewell Health in Southeast Michigan. “Almost 20% of those are getting admitted. A number of them are ending up in the ICUs.”…