User profile: Arthur

Joined: March 15, 2008

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Posted on: How the culture of cost-cutting in Nevada’s capital contributed to the Endoscopy Center scandal

Is everyone missing the boat here?

Six patients were found to have contracted Hepatitis C, whereas the average number of acute cases in Nevada is only two a year. Because of this anomaly an investigation was launched, and the common factor was that all six had endocrine procedures done at this clinic, five in one day.

Because the anesthesiologists had been found to have been using single dose vials of medicine on more than one patient, it was assumed that was the cause. That led to many more inspections at medical clinics, and the practice was found to be routine at many of them for a number of years.

But if this is so, and the practice is so inherently dangerous, why have there not been many more such incidents to now? Why have there only been an average of two per year up to now?

Doesn't it seem likely that something else might have caused those cases?

Given that these procedures involve inserting probes and other instruments into the rectum and colon of patients, one would expect those instruments to be scrupulously cleaned and sterilized before use on another patient.

But the doctor/owner of this clinic has bragged about doing fifty procedures a day. Even at a ten-hour working day that's only twelve minutes each for a procedure that normally takes fifteen minutes. Where is the time to properly check on the cleanliness of the equipment.

And I recall reading something about this or another clinic cited for not properly cleaning and sterilizing equipment.

By the way, how many different performed the procedures on those six patients? One? Two? Between two and six?

(Suggest removal) 3/15/08 at 4:05 p.m.

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