LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
CRE Superbug Outbreak at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center
Were you looking for Duodenoscope Infection Risk lawsuits?
Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles, CA: Two people are dead and 179 potentially infected with a deadly superbug found at UCLA. According to a report by the PBS documentary news show Frontline, the antibiotic resistant superbug outbreak took place at Ronald Reagan Medical Center from October 2014 to January 2015.
It is believed that tainted medical scopes, called duodenoscopes, may have been the source of human exposure to the bug, a hospital spokesperson said. Seven people are confirmed to have been infected including the two who died, said spokeswoman Elaine Schmidt.
The superbug—carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)—is thought to be have been transmitted via the medical instruments despite the fact that those instruments had been sterilized to the manufacturer' prescribed standards.
CRE is resistant to practically every antibiotic currently on the market, including carbapenems, which are considered as the antibiotics of last resort, Frontline reports.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the design of the duodenoscopes could impede the process of cleaning and disinfecting. The scopes are lit, flexible tubes that are threaded through the mouth, throat, stomach, and duodenum. The FDA has recommended that new maintenance procedures be undertaken and that the scopes not be used, if they are suspected to have been exposed to the bug at some point.
UCLA said in a statement that it stopped using the two scopes involved in the outbreak and is now using a decontamination process that goes "above and beyond the manufacturer and national standards"for its scopes.
Last updated on
It is believed that tainted medical scopes, called duodenoscopes, may have been the source of human exposure to the bug, a hospital spokesperson said. Seven people are confirmed to have been infected including the two who died, said spokeswoman Elaine Schmidt.
The superbug—carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)—is thought to be have been transmitted via the medical instruments despite the fact that those instruments had been sterilized to the manufacturer' prescribed standards.
CRE is resistant to practically every antibiotic currently on the market, including carbapenems, which are considered as the antibiotics of last resort, Frontline reports.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the design of the duodenoscopes could impede the process of cleaning and disinfecting. The scopes are lit, flexible tubes that are threaded through the mouth, throat, stomach, and duodenum. The FDA has recommended that new maintenance procedures be undertaken and that the scopes not be used, if they are suspected to have been exposed to the bug at some point.
UCLA said in a statement that it stopped using the two scopes involved in the outbreak and is now using a decontamination process that goes "above and beyond the manufacturer and national standards"for its scopes.
Legal Help
If you or a loved one has suffered similar damages or injuries, please click the link below and your complaint will be sent to a lawyer who may evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.Last updated on
CRE SUPERBUG OUTBREAK AT UCLA RONALD REGAN MEDICAL CENTER LEGAL ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS
Lawsuits Allege Olympus Withheld Reports of Endoscopy Infections from US Hospitals
Intestinal Scopes Linked to Deadly Infection
Superbug Outbreak Blamed on Unapproved Medical Devices
December 30, 2015
Santa Monica, CA: A damning exposé on endoscopes that appeared earlier this month in the Los Angeles Times (12/19/15) provides a troubling backdrop to a rash of serious infections and responses undertaken by a manufacturer that commands the single largest sector of the endoscopy market in the United States. Such revelations would be of interest to any plaintiff fighting an Endoscopy lawsuit, of which there are several. READ MORE
Intestinal Scopes Linked to Deadly Infection
September 22, 2015
In February 2015, officials at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center reported that seven patients at the hospital were infected and two died after being infected with a deadly superbug embedded in a type of medical device known as a duodenoscope (or ERCP endoscope) used to investigate patients with gastrointestinal complaints. READ MORE
Superbug Outbreak Blamed on Unapproved Medical Devices
March 6, 2015
In a telling statement as to the effectiveness of medical device oversight and adherence (or lack thereof) to long-held guidelines and approval tenets, the manufacturer of a product used in duodenoscopy managed to vend its device to the medical community for more than three years before anyone realized the device did not carry proper clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The resulting CRE Superbug Outbreak at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center (RRMC) made seven patients seriously ill. Two died. READ MORE