Antibiotic-resistant 'superbug' found at California hospital

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Huntington Memorial Hospital say patients may have been infected with drug resistant pseudomonas bacteria
Potentially caused by fiber optic scopes used to search for gallstones, blockages and cancers of the digestive tract
The hospital said it has quarantined the scopes while it investigates whether they may be linked to the infections

By Associated Press and Alexandra Klausner For Dailymail.com

Published: 19:27 EST, 19 August 2015 | Updated: 11:39 EST, 20 August 2015

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A Los Angeles-area hospital said on Wednesday that some of its patients contracted an antibiotic-resistant 'superbug' that has been linked to a type of medical scope and infected dozens of people around the country.

Huntington Memorial Hospital said in a statement that it notified public health authorities after several patients who had procedures using Olympus Corp. duodenoscopes were found to have the resistant pseudomonas bacteria.

The hospital said it has quarantined the scopes while it investigates whether they may be linked to the infections.

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Superbug: Psuedomonas infection is caused by strains of bacteria found widely in the environment; the most common type causing infections in humans is called Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Hospital: Huntington Memorial Hospital said in a statement that it notified public health authorities after several patients who had procedures using Olympus Corp. duodenoscopes were found to have the resistant pseudomonas bacteria

The statement made no mention of the total number of infected patients or their conditions.

However, the Los Angeles Times said the problem was discovered in June and three patient infections have been reported to health officials.

Drug-resistant bacterial infections around the country have been linked to contamination of the reusable scopes, which are used for a procedure known as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

The fiber-optic scopes are placed down a patient's throat and used to diagnose and treat gallstones, blockages and cancers of the digestive tract.

'The patients who experienced the bacterial growth were very ill before they underwent the scope procedure, and the risk of the procedure was explained to each patient and family,' Huntington Memorial's statement said.

'This is a problem facing every hospital and we will be part of the solution. Guidelines in place for disinfecting and monitoring scopes for bacterial growth are in line with FDA and manufacturer standards,' Huntington Hospital executive Dr. Paula Verrette said in a statement to CBS.

SUPERBUG: RESISTANT PSUEDOMONAS BACTERIA

Psuedomonas infection is caused by strains of bacteria found widely in the environment; the most common type causing infections in humans is called Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Serious Pseudomonas infections usually occur in people in the hospital and/or with weakened immune systems. Infections of the blood, pneumonia, and infections following surgery can lead to severe illness and death in these people.

The fiber-optic scopes are placed down a patient's throat to diagnose and treat gallstones, blockages and cancers of the digestive tract.

Psuedonomal infections can involve any part of the body and can affect every portion of the GI tract.

The infection can cause enteritis, with patients presenting with prostration, headache, fever, and diarrhea (Shanghai fever).

In the lungs it can cause pneumonia characterized by fever, chills, severe dyspnea, cyanosis, productive cough, confusion, and other signs of a systemic inflammatory response.

It can infect the heart valves causing fever and malaise, with more specific symptoms depending on which cardiac valve is involved. Left-sided endocarditis typically presents with symptoms of congestive heart failure and those resulting from systemic spread of septic emboli.

In the central nervous system it can cause meningitis and brain abscess.

Patients present cental nervous involvement with fever, headache, and confusion. The onset may be fulminant or subacute, often depending on the immune status of the patient.

It can cause infections of the urinary tract though no specific characteristics distinguish this type of infection from other forms of UTI.

It can also cause infections of the eye and ear along with infections of the bones and joints.

Common tool: Olympus is the market leader for duodenoscopes in the U.S., accounting for about 85 percent of sales, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

A dozen infections were reported earlier this year at Cedars-Sinai and UCLA's Ronald Reagan medical centers in Los Angeles. Three patients died.

Those patients were infected with the bacteria carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE.

UCLA said infections may have been transmitted through two endoscopes used during the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic and bile-duct problems.

The hospitals said the infections occurred even though the devices had been cleaned to the manufacturer's standards. They have since implemented more stringent disinfection procedures.

Drug-resistant bacterial infections around the country have been linked to contamination of the reusable scopes used in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).The fiber-optic scopes are placed down a patient's throat to diagnose and treat gallstones, blockages and cancers of the digestive tract

Olympus is the market leader for duodenoscopes in the U.S., accounting for about 85 percent of sales, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

On Monday, the FDA posted a warning letter online that said Olympus waited three years to alert regulators to a cluster of 16 infections in patients who underwent procedures using the scope in 2012.

Additionally, FDA inspectors found that the company has no standard procedure for promptly reporting serious problems with its devices, a requirement for medical device companies.

The company said it was reviewing the FDA's warning.

The FDA also posted warning letters Monday to two other scope manufacturers citing problems with the testing, design, reporting and quality control of their devices.

Another superbug: A dozen infections were reported earlier this year at Cedars-Sinai and UCLA's Ronald Reagan medical centers in Los Angeles. Three patients died. Those patients were infected with the bacteria carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE (pictured)