Microorganism directed antimicrobial therapy has long been a mainstay of the treatment of ENT disorders. Reliability of traditional cultures and inherent delays in growing and identifying microorganisms has been a long standing limitation. PCR technology has grown exponentially over the past year in identifying the COVID-19 organisms. This has led to increased availability of this technology for microorganism identification. This session will describe the incorporation of PCR technology into the otolaryngology practice.
After attending this activity, attendees will be able to:
1. Recognize the difference in process, timing, and efficiency of PCR microorganism identification compared with traditional culture techniques
2. Provide the practitioner the process to incorporate PCR technology into their diagnostic armamentarium