Dr. Robert Dean began practicing with Tucson Ear, Nose & Throat, P.C. fourteen years ago. His special interests include pediatrics, endoscopic sinus surgery, allergy, sleep medicine and endocrinology. He recently sat down with us to explain the difference MicroGen DX’s DNA based diagnostic testing has made for him and his patients.
Immediately Dr. Dean explained how having better diagnostics has helped to provide confidence about what microbes are playing a role in the patient’s condition.
“Traditionally, when we’ve cultured patient’s paranasal sinuses,” Dr. Dean explained, “we found staph. We thought those were contaminants but now utilizing MicroGen DX and the molecular technology, when we actually are able to do those samples and send those off. We’re able to know that that’s actually a staph infection.”
Dr. Dean described how the more accurate data provided by the MicroGen DX testing has benefitted his practice.
“To be able to have the accurate data so you know exactly what to put in their topical preparation is a huge benefit,” he told us. “Being able to pick those specific antifungals or pick the specific antibiotics and steroids to compound, you can tell the patient, “Hey, look.
I have objective data to show you exactly what you have and what’s sensitive to it
and this is why we really need to do this compound. Why it’s worth your money and your time.”
Dr. Dean gave us an example of a case where in his ability to provide treatment for a patient was greatly benefitted by having the information provided by MicroGen DX’s two part DNA testing.
“We had a fourteen-year-old that’s had this chronic festering draining sinus” he told us, “and she’s been on multiple rounds of Augmentin and she’s 14. Typically, we don’t treat teenagers with fluoroquinolones because of the effect that it has on the bones and soft tissue. It turns out it was pseudomonas and it was Next-Gen Sequencing that was able to identify that. There’s no one that would have treated this child with a fluoroquinolone, just because of the contraindications, but in this child’s case that’s exactly what they needed.”
Dr. Dean described for us how he feels MicroGen DX’s two part DNA test took the guesswork out of diagnosing infections and allowed him to confidently target the microbes causing the condition.
“Using the technology from MicroGen DX does allow you to practice precision medicine,”
he explained, “because you’re actually diagnosing and treating appropriately these individuals using data that you know is very specific. There’s only one way to get the result that you have and that is to have the DNA of that bacteria or that fungus present in that sample. By having that data, you know that this is exactly what you need to treat. Truly, it’s precision medicine at the end of the day.”
Dr. Dean gave us the top three reasons he believes MicroGen DX would benefit both doctors and patients over traditional cultures.
“The thing that makes the most sense for most people in the healthcare industry to hear when we’re talking about something like MicroGen DX and the Next-Gen Sequencing is that one, you have an accurate diagnostic tool. Number two, you have a rapid turnaround and number three you can do this while the patients are on antibiotics.
Those are all huge advantages that save the system time and money and the patient time and money.”
Click here to watch this interview on our YouTube channel.
Robert Dean, MD
6567 E. Carondelet, Suite 515
Tucson, Arizona 85710
(520) 296-2454 – phone
(520) 733-2389 – fax
http://tucsonent.com/
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