Clinic May Have Exposed Thousands Of Patients To HIV & Hepatitis
LatestWhen it comes to disease exposure from unsterilized instruments, few images can compare with a dirty speculum, but using any unclean instrument can be just as horrifying. Yesterday a clinic in Wisconsin informed 2,345 people that they may have been exposed to a variety of blood-borne diseases by a clinician who treated diabetic patients.
Reuters reports that since 2006, a nurse who worked at various Dean Clinic locations in the state had been misusing instruments used to inject insulin. The nurse had been trained to demonstrate how to use an insulin pen and a finger stick device that tests blood sugar levels, and always changed needles after demonstrating the devices on patients. The problem is that the insulin pens were meant to be used in demonstrations on oranges or pillows, not on patients. Plus, even though the needles were clean, blood could get into the devices and be passed on to other patients who used them.