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Patients At University Of Colorado Hospital Develop Infections Linked To Scope

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Some patients at the University of Colorado Hospital have developed infections after undergoing a procedure with a particular endoscope. Of the nine who developed infections, three of those patients later died.

Endoscopes are used to look into patient body cavities. One particular duodenoscope is at the center of a national investigation. That equipment can be difficult to clean.

At the hospital, nine of 19 patients who underwent procedures with the specific duodenoscope between Dec. 8, 2015 and Jan. 25 of this year developed infections with ESBL E. coli.

CU Hospital told CBS4 it has followed exact guidelines for cleaning the scopes and has added a new step of regularly sterilizing the scopes.

The hospital provided this statement: Providing the very best and safest care to our patients is our top priority at University of Colorado Hospital. We thoroughly investigated this incident and determined that nine patients who underwent an ERCP using a particular endoscope developed infections; three of these patients later died. These patients were very ill, and it is unclear what impact the infections had on their deaths. We notified the patients and/or their family members in addition to notifying the manufacturer of the scope, the CDPHE and the FDA.

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