What happened to common sense? Non existent. Why does it take a rule by the US government to tell hospitals how to keep their devices clean? It is simple common sense. A commodity that is not so common. Virginia hospital that cleaned up its procedures and became one of the safest hospitals in the nation did not wait for the bureaucrats to tell them what to do.
[From article]
Nearly 180 patients at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center may have been exposed to potentially deadly bacteria from contaminated medical scopes, and two deaths have already been linked to the outbreak.
[. . .]
At issue is a specialized endoscope inserted down the throats of about 500,000 patients annually to treat cancers, gallstones and other ailments of the digestive system.
These duodenoscopes are considered minimally invasive, and doctors credit them for saving lives through early detection and treatment. But medical experts say some scopes can be difficult to disinfect through conventional cleaning because of their design, so bacteria are transmitted from patient to patient.
[. . .]
“There is either a design issue to be addressed or a change to the guidelines for the cleaning process,” said Dr. Andrew Ross, section chief of gastroenterology at Virginia Mason. “It's the role of the federal government to make some of those decisions.”
[. . .]
“Hospitals and manufacturers often take months to assess what to do, with the infected patients being the last to know,” Muscarella said. “Bringing patients into the loop and answering their questions is important for hospitals to prevent outbreaks.”
[. . .]
Meanwhile, some doctors worry the outbreaks might deter patients from seeking care they need.
http://www.latimes.com/changebrowser#url=/#section/-1/article/p2p-82855461/
Superbug linked to 2 deaths at UCLA hospital; 179 potentially exposed
BY CHAD TERHUNE
February 18, 2015, 9:14 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment