New regulatory documents show that at least three patients at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena died after becoming infected with a fatal bacteria strain that is suspected to have originated from tainted medical scopes. The suspected duodenoscope in August 2015 outbreak (TJF-160F) was a different design than the medical scopes recalled by manufacturer Olympus in January 2016 (TJF-Q180V).
Duodenoscopes are cameras attached to long, snake-like tubes used to treat cancer and other ailments in the bile or pancreatic ducts. The scopes are inserted into patients’ throats and upper gastrointestinal tracts. A design flaw causes the duodenoscope to be very difficult to clean and sterilize, allowing deadly drug-resistant bacteria to thrive. The scopes are reused, which caused many patients to become infected with the bacteria. Since 2010, tainted Olympus duodenoscopes exposed as many as 350 patients in 41 different medical facilities to the deadly bacteria.
Recently, Olympus issues new guidelines for cleaning the affected TJF-160F duodenoscopes used in the Pasadena facility. However, at the time of the outbreak last year, Huntington Hospital was using the older cleaning guidelines.
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