Articles

161 patients at risk for deadly infections after nurse reused syringes

March 11, 2018

Infections caused by nurses reusing dirty needles is still a problem in the United States.

Unsafe injections practices, such as reusing a syringe on multiple patients, commonly cause infection outbreaks in developing countries.  This is a problem in other parts of the world because access to good infection control training and medical supplies is limited. Unfortunately, despite appropriate training and abundant medical supplies here in the United States, outbreaks of diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV caused by nurses re-using contaminated needles or syringes still happen.

Just last week it was discovered a nurse practitioner was reusing syringes at a dermatology clinic in Minnesota.  As many as 161 patients were notified they needed to be tested for hepatitis and HIV after being given injections with a dirty syringe.  Also last week the CDC reported there have been 60 hepatitis outbreaks since 2008 caused by poor healthcare practices such as reuse of syringes or finger prick devices.  In 2007, syringe reuse at a clinic in Nevada led to 60,000 patients undergoing tests for infectious disease.  Eight of them were discovered to have been infected with hepatits C.

If you or a family member developed an infection at any Army, Navy or Air Force hospital or clinic due to use of contaminated needles, syringes or any other medical device, we can help.  For a free, confidential consultation with a military medical malpractice lawyer call us at 1-877-695-8757 (24/7), e-mail us at LawHelp@militarymedicalmalpractice.com or simply fill out the short form at the top right side of this page.

Source & to read more: http://www.fox9.com/news/allina-notifies-patients-of-risks-after-nurse-reused-syringes-on-161-people

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