The last time we mentioned duodenoscopes and the risk of infection that comes with their use, the United States had a different president. Britain was still firmly in place as a part of the European Union and the first #metoo post hadn’t yet been posted to social media.
It was 2015, and in response to a number of infections and multiple deaths stemming from infections contracted from the use of unclean ...
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A Washington state jury has issued a critical ruling regarding Olympus and their duodenoscopes and found that the corporation’s much debated product design is not unsafe. However, the jury did order the corporation to pay $6.6 million for failing to provide proper warnings for its scopes, which have been found to have contributed to outbreaks of an antibiotic-resistant “superbug” across the country since 2010.
Despite the ordered ...
continue reading...Information continues to come to light about threatening bacteria found in medical scopes used for critical procedures, the LA Times reports. Cleaning requirements for the devices have become increasingly strenuous since 2015. That’s when Olympus, a major manufacturer, disclosed to US medical professionals that their hard-to-clean duodenoscope design retained bacteria – even after going through reprocessing.
The FDA has urged hospitals and other facilities that use continue reading...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a safety communication detailing additional measures for medical staff to follow when cleaning duodenoscopes. The agency encourages hospitals to follow supplemental guidelines, as well as adhere strictly to the manufacturer’s disinfection instructions.
Duodenoscopes are a type of medical device used in endoscopic surgery to help diagnose and treat gallstones, cancer, and other complications in the bile and pancreatic ...
continue reading...A federal panel has concluded that the duodenoscopes involved in two Los Angeles “superbug” outbreaks are unsafe as designed. According to a Los Angeles Times article, the government is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to do more to ensure patient safety.
The outbreaks occurred earlier this year after patients at two Los Angeles hospitals underwent procedures involving contaminated duodenoscopes. At the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical ...
continue reading...Duodenoscope manufacturer Olympus Corp. warned European hospitals of device contamination nearly two years before the recent outbreaks at two Los Angeles medical centers, according to the LA times. But according to the article, Olympus made no effort to notify U.S. health care facilities or officials of the contamination risks. The new evidence intensified concerns about how much Olympus knew about the ...
