First Fully Disposable Scope Approved By FDA Following Series Of Deadly Infections From Reusable Versions
Duodenoscopes are used in 700,000 medical procedures each year, yet tests showed that the devices could not be properly decontaminated between procedures. In 2015, two patients in Los Angeles died and five were sickened by contaminated duodenoscopes.
The New York Times:
To Prevent Deadly Infections, F.D.A. Approves The First Disposable ‘Scope’
Following a series of deadly outbreaks in hospitals around the country, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first fully disposable version of the medical device implicated in the infections. Reusable versions of the device — a long, snakelike tube with a fiber-optic camera at one end, called a duodenoscope — are inserted in one patient after another to diagnose and treat diseases of the pancreas and bile duct, like tumors and gallstones. (Rabin, 12/13)
Past KHN coverage: The Throwaway Scope: A Way To Ditch Superbugs?
In other news about superbugs and the safety of medical device —
CNN:
Scientists Develop Superbug-Resistant, Self-Cleaning Plastic Wrap
Researchers have developed a self-cleaning plastic wrap that repels bacteria -- and could be used to prevent the transfer of antibiotic resistant superbugs, and other forms of dangerous bacteria. A team of scientists from Canada's McMaster University used a combination of nano-scale surface engineering and chemistry to develop a plastic surface -- a treated form of transparent wrap -- which repels all kinds of bacteria. (Woodyatt, 12/13)
