FDA warns about medical scopes after “superbug” hits California hospital



The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday warned doctors and hospitals that a commonly used type of medical scope can be difficult to sanitize between uses and “may facilitate the spread of deadly bacteria.”

The agency’s warning came a day after news broke that seven patients had been infected by a drug-resistant “superbug” at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center since last fall. Two of the patients died, and public health authorities are tracking down nearly 200 others who might have been exposed to the dangerous bacteria through the use of the contaminated medical scopes.

Known as duodenoscopes, the devices are used in hundreds of thousands of procedures each year in the United States to drain fluids from pancreatic and bile ducts blocked by cancer tumors, gallstones and other conditions. Doctors consider them an important tool in detecting and treating medical problems early and in a minimally invasive way.

The California outbreak, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, represented the latest in a string of lethal superbug episodes linked to the specialized scopes.

Since 2012, similar outbreaks have occurred at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital near Chicago, where 44 people were infected, and at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, where at least 32 patients became ill and 11 died. It’s unclear how significant a role the bacterial outbreak played in those deaths, but the Seattle hospital stressed that the instruments were cleaned according to the manufacturer’s stipulations.

Lawmakers and patient-safety experts have increasingly pressed the FDA and device manufacturers to issue warnings about the problem and take steps to fix it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted the FDA to the potential problem in the fall of 2013. Over the past two years, the FDA has received at least 75 reports of incidents involving at least 135 patients. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) earlier this month wrote to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, urging the agency to publicly address the issue. Until Thursday, that had not happened.

“The FDA is not doing its job,” said Lawrence Muscarella, a hospital-safety consultant and expert on endoscopes who has been monitoring the problem in recent years. “It’s really not acceptable. . . . These reports have been coming for at least 3 to 5 years.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fda-warns-about-medical-scopes-after-%e2%80%9csuperbug%e2%80%9d-hits-california-hospital/ar-BBhLU4y

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Was Sabotage or Terrorism used in the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
"Perfect for destroying the supply chain. It could well have been intentional."
3 hours ago
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post Was Sabotage or Terrorism used in the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
3 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
5 hours ago
rlionhearted_3 posted photos
8 hours ago
rlionhearted_3 favorited Doc Vega's photo
8 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Alabama’s Biggest Secret - Operation Paperclip 🇺🇸

In the north of Alabama is the city of Huntsville. It's here where German scientists built NASA in secrecy after World War II. Operation Paperclip is still s...
11 hours ago
tjdavis posted a photo
13 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Cheeki kea always nice to her you chime in and you're damn right! "
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Les Prone thanks for your support Dude! "
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a photo

The inconvenient truth

Trump spells it out!
yesterday
Sandy posted a photo
yesterday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post What Made the Founding Fathers of America so Brilliant?
Tuesday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Motives of Joe, to shit in the well by showing totally irrelevant proof?"
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less, Motives of Wyatt or Joe? What archeologist wouldn't want proof of Jesus as part of his…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less Prone, Considering Joe Rogan to be the gatekeeper of anything is just short of ridiculous the…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Tuesday
MAC posted a video

Don't Go To Hong Kong Now (Even on Connecting Flights)

Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code laowhy86 for an extra 3 months free at https://Surfshark.deals/laowhy86Article 23 in Hong Kong is real,...
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

Terrorist Attack on Moscow - Ukraine Committing Suicide? | Larry C. Johnson

"...And I guess I'll just park this you tube here also for something to ponder from last year.…"
Tuesday
tjdavis posted photos
Tuesday
Less Prone posted a video

Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth) NL

Deze nieuwe documentaire van de Britse filmmaker Martin Durkin toont aan dat klimaatalarm een verzonnen doembeeld is zonder enige wetenschappelijke basis. He...
Monday

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted