Forbes Regional Hospital in suburban Pittsburgh is urging about 200 patients who underwent colonoscopies during a four-month span to get tested for HIV and hepatitis because the instruments may not have been properly disinfected. Hospital officials said patients' risk of exposure to the blood-borne viruses is low.

Patients who underwent colonoscopies from Oct. 28, 2004, to Feb. 26, 2005, have been offered free HIV and hepatitis screenings immediately and again in six months, said hospital spokesperson Tom Chakurda. About 70 patients thus far have contacted the hospital, Chakurda said.

In February, laboratory staff at Forbes Regional discovered that secondary channels on two recently purchased colonoscopes might not have been adequately disinfected, the hospital said Wednesday. The auxiliary channels -- designed to flush the colon -- were not used in any of the colonoscopies performed.

The manufacturer of the colonoscopes, Melville, N.Y.-based Olympus American Inc., said it has sent out an instruction manual that is "detailed and explicit" in how to properly disinfect the instruments, said spokesperson Laura Tyler.

Tyler added that she had seen no evidence of a "larger problem" involving the scopes. Forbes, citing CDC, said similar problems have arisen at hospitals in California and New York. CDC officials were unavailable for comment.

Back to other news for March 31, 2005

Search the Newsroom archive