While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still investigating four deaths caused by mold infections at UPMC, its “Notes from the Field” report says the room’s air pressure may have had a role in their deaths.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week that it was cancelling the recall of 2,800 Custom Ultrasonics automated endoscope reprocessors (AER.) Custom Ultrasonics was one of the corporations embroiled in the duodenoscope scandal last year, after contaminated scopes caused scores...
Reusable medical devices carry a special risk of infection if they aren't properly reprocessed and sterilized. This fact was clarified in recent months when scores of infection outbreaks and dozens of deaths were linked to defective endoscopes. Many of these outbreaks involved...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is attempting to develop better methods of measuring and reporting data on catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) rates.
A new study published in The Lancet has found that using antibiotic-impregnated central venous catheters (CVC) can halve the rate of bloodstream infections in children.
What can healthcare facilities do before then to improve CAUTI compliance before the Joint Commission's newest NPSG goes into effect on January 1, 2017?
On March 1, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Olympus Corp. with paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to hospitals and doctors to buy its products. The company, which owns 85% of the U.S. endoscope market, has agreed to pay $646 million to resolve the criminal charges and civil charges...
One of the duodenoscope manufacturers at the center of a series of infectious outbreaks dating back to 2012 has announced plans to recall its current model and replace it with a new FDA-approved design.
On February 19, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that reprocessing instructions for Pentax duodenoscopes had been validated and approved by the agency.
