Twenty-three patients were potentially impacted by improperly cleaned equipment at a Kaiser Permanente facility in Largo, Md., according to an article on the WJLA website.
A piece of the endoscopy equipment had a defect that may have prevented it from being properly disinfected.
According to Kaiser Permanente, the scope in question was disinfected following the recommended protocols before its use. But, after discovering the defect and conducting subsequent analysis, the system determined that it could not guarantee that the sterilization process was fully effective.
The facility is contacting the 23 members who underwent a colonoscopy/upper endoscopy to ask them to come in for some screening tests.