Article content

WASHINGTON – The number of patients harmed by contaminated medical scopes in recent years far exceeds previous estimates from federal regulators, according to findings in a Senate health committee report published Wednesday.

During a three-year stretch from 2012 to 2015, specialized devices known as duodenoscopes were linked to more than two dozen outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections that sickened at least 250 patients in the United States and Europe, the inquiry found. It also details a woefully inadequate warning system, in which manufacturers failed to inform health officials to potential problems linked to their devices, hospitals failed to alert federal regulators about outbreaks and the Food and Drug Administration was slow to identify the problem and alert the public.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Tainted medical scopes have sickened hundreds, U.S. Senate probe finds Back to video

“Patients should be able to trust that the devices they need for treatment are safe and effective,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., whose staff began investigating the issue a year ago, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this investigation makes clear that current policies for monitoring medical device safety put patients at risk, and in this case, allowed tragedies to occur that could have, and should have, been prevented.”