So far, so good for endoscopy patients 86 people have negative test results for blood-borne virus

June 19, 2004

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All 86 people tested so far for blood-borne viruses they may have been

exposed to during gastrointestinal endoscopies at a Manhasset hospital have

shown no sign of infection, the hospital says, but doctors say it would be

months before any trace of infection could be detected.

The hospital staff at North Shore University Hospital is hoping to test the

rest of the 177 patients who might be affected by the end of next week, and

has asked all of the patients to return in six months for a follow-up test.

Though the hospital portrayed the initial negative tests as good news,

physicians say the first tests would only reveal viruses people already had.

Antibodies for hepatitis B, C and HIV can take months to appear, they said,

and the real determination can be made only after six months...

The hospital acknowledged on Tuesday that it does not know whether

instruments used in upper endoscopies and colonoscopies were disinfected

properly during a 12-day period from April 28 to May 10. Officials said the

instruments may have been cleaned according to guidelines but the cleaning

wasn't documented. They said two employees involved have since been

disciplined.

All 177 patients who had the procedures in that period were contacted by the

hospital last week and urged to undergo testing for hepatitis B, C, and HIV.

Antibodies for hepatitis B and C don't show up until about four months after

exposure, medical authorities said. The average time for HIV antibodies to

appear is after three months, according to the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention.

Specialists say there is no record of HIV ever being transmitted during an

endoscopic procedure. There have been documented cases of transmission of

hepatitis only when the cleaning guidelines have been breached, and even

that is exceedingly rare...

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