During an internal review of hospital safety, the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center discovered on March 4th that a part of the equipment used in colonoscopies and other gastrointestinal procedures was not being disinfected, only rinsed – contrary to the manufacturer’s recommendation. This suboptimal sterilization of equipment has led hospital officials to announce a potential increase in risk of HIV and hepatitis transmission for those who have undergone gastrointestinal procedures at the medical center, although there’s no evidence that any patients have been infected. The hospital has sent letters to over 2,500 veterans, and are still trying to reach another 700. Concerned patients and family can call the 24 hour Miami VA hotline at 305-575-7256 or toll free at 1-877-575-7256.
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Tags: colonoscopy, Gastrointestinal, hepatitis, HIV, Miami, safety, VA, veterans affairs
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
March 25th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Come on now! Everyone deserves as much protection from these diseases as we can offer them! (Especially the men & women who risked their lives for US!) Surely it hasn’t already come to the point that we no longer care! Go by the manufacturer’s guidelines. Would you want to have that equipment used on you or someone you loved? Think about it!-Leslie
March 25th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Everyone who is responsible for the sterilization of the equipment should be fired starting from the top down.
March 25th, 2009 at 9:17 am
AND TO THINK PEOPLE GO TO THE4 HOSPITAL TO GET WELL. WHAT TYPE OF PERSONNEL COULD POSSIBLY GET AWAY WITH SUCH A THING. GET READY FOR THE WELL-DESERVED LAWSUITS.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Well, isn’t this the topping on the cake. No news in the US unless it’s bad news. This country needs a taste of it’s own medicine. Why should our young men kill themselves, get killed in action all for the sake of oil oil oil for the Bush family. If the sedated Americans would rise up and go against the American policies, rather than going to their crummy low paid jobs each day, fight for what’s right…we’re no better than Germany back in the 40’s. Now our soldier will come home to be infected with HCV/HIV 20 years after it came about and the blood was supposingly taken care of. I am sick to my sould with this country of Jews who have taken it over, and the AIG boys that lay around in luxury as others go hungry. This country has been asleep for years especially the last 8 and the dog that brought us down.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Say it like you know it girl! When is the last good news that has been spoken about? I give up and want to die to get away from this insanity!
March 27th, 2009 at 10:45 am
i’ll found a new product that can detected a dengue, leukimia, hepatitis A,B and C