Mar 29, 2009 12:51 pm US/Central
Colonoscopy Procedures Suspended At Miami VA
Veterans Can Call A Special Toll Free Number: 1-877-575-7256
MIAMI (CBS) ―
The Miami Veterans Affairs hospital has temporarily suspended performing colonoscopies after thousands of veterans may have been exposed to a number of diseases including hepatitis and HIV after the equipment used to perform the procedure was reportedly improperly cleaned.
Earlier this month letters were sent out letters to more than 32 hundred vets who had colonoscopies performed at the Miami facility between May 2004 and March 2009. The letter stated that needed to be checked because they may have been exposed to hepatitis B or C, or HIV.
CBS station WFOR-TV
news partners The Miami Herald report the company that makes the equipment used to perform the colonoscopy procedure, Olympus America, issued a notice earlier this year that some hospitals were creating a hazard by misassembling the equipment or not cleaning it properly.
Two months ago, Olympus America issued another safety warning after they found that some VA hospitals were using the wrong connectors on tubing which could allow a backflow of contaminated water and infect a patient.
On Friday, an inspection and investigative team from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs arrived in Miami to determine who or what was responsible for the lapse in cleaning procedures at the Miami VA. Hospital officials said the equipment was rinsed after each use, rather than sterilized as required by the manufacturer.
'There are manufacturers' recommendations about how things should be handled. Not infrequently in healthcare it may not be implemented in quite that way,'' Miami VA Chief of Staff Dr. John Vara said during a news conference last week.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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