Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles announced on Wednesday that new super bug cases have been reported. Four patients had contracted a deadly, drug resistant infection linked to a hard-to-clean medical device. The device, called a duodenoscope, also has been implicated in an outbreak of infections at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Duodenoscopes are diagnosing diseases involving the pancreas and bile ducts. A contaminated scope can introduce a bacteria known as CRE or, Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae while the patient is anesthetized. Cedars-Sinai said the four patients contracted the infection after ongoing procedures between August and January. Hospital officials said they had mailed letters to dozens of other patients who had the procedures out of an “abundance of caution.”
Duodenoscopes are used in about 500,000 procedures in the United States every year. Between January 2013 and December 2014, the FDA received reports of bacterial transmission from duodenoscopes in 135 patients.
The Strick Injury Law and Mediation is currently accepting duodenal scope injury cases. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with a “Superbug infection” or CRE infection, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free consultation.