Did you receive a colonoscopy at Forbes Regional Hospital?

Here is a checklist of important facts for patients who received the procedure at Forbes in Monroeville:

• Colonoscopes were inadequately cleaned between October 28, 2004 and February 26, 2005.
• There is a small risk of hepatitis and HIV as a result of the inadequate cleaning.
• If you received a colonoscopy during this time, contact the hospital at their toll-free hotline: 1-800-854-5450.
• Repeat testing in six (6) months is recommended.

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Improperly cleaned colonoscopes cause concern

Some 200 patients who received colonoscopies at Forbes Regional Hospital recently received news that improperly cleaned colonoscopes may put them at risk of infection. Patients who received colonoscopies between October 28, 2004 and February 26, 2005 were alerted by hospital officials via certified letter to the risk and requested to contact the hospital and set up appointments for tests to rule out hepatitis and HIV infections. The latency period of these diseases means testing again in 6 months is necessary to absolutely rule out the possibility of infection.

Colonoscopes are long, flexible fiberoptic tubes used to examine a patient’s rectum and large intestine. When two new colonoscopes were recently purchased by Forbes, hospital staff were unaware that the instruments were slightly different than ones currently in use. The new colonoscopes have a secondary channel that provides physicians additional cleaning options. Although the feature was unused by doctors at Forbes, the channel must still be properly disinfected. According to the colonoscope manufacturer, Olympus America Inc, instructions are provided with each colonoscope, which include proper cleaning procedures.

Improperly cleaned colonoscopes were also an issue in 2003 at New York and California hospitals. Thousands of patient screenings for hepatitis and HIV resulted. Although the risk of infection is considered quite low, there are recorded cases of hepatitis transmission from contaminated colonoscopes.

Colonoscope Contamination in the News

3/31/05 - Monroeville hospital urges 200 colonoscopy patients to get checked for hepatitis, HIV. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“A possible or probable link between improperly disinfected colonoscopes has been established with two cases of hepatitis C, said Arjun Srinivasan, a medical epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But so few such cases exist that it is difficult to even calculate the odds of infection from a colonoscope”

4/1/05 - FDA reviews colon test device. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“In December 2003, health officials said about 86 patients at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville, Bucks County, were examined with scopes that were not soaked in an appropriate disinfecting solution.

“In 2002, a bacterial outbreak at Allegheny General Hospital that killed one patient was linked to contaminated bronchoscopes, which are used to examine the lungs. Like Forbes, AGH is part of the West Penn Allegheny Health System.”

4/1/05 - Hospital issues alert on colonoscope. Times Leader.

“Similar concerns about the scopes have been raised at hospitals in California and New York, the hospital said, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

“Arjun Srinivasan, an epidemiologist with the CDC, said he had heard of infections from endoscopes, which include colonoscopes.”