A Kansas hospital is asking 244 patients who have undergone colonoscopies in its facilities since early January to undergo blood testing after determining that endoscopes used during the procedures were not cleaned and disinfected according to the manufacturer's specifications.
Although officials at Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute--as well as at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment--say there is an extremely low probability of any of the patients contracting a disease, they are urging the tests to ensure that the patients did not contract any diseases, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The hospital is recommending that the patients be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. The hospital will not charge for the tests, and has told patients that if any kind of infection shows up, it will provide treatment free of charge. Article