The Miami Veterans Administration Health Care System is notifying 3,260 veterans of a potential health risk from endoscopies performed between May 2004 and March 12, 2009.  While the endoscopes themselves were cleaned and disinfected, an attached section of tubing was rinsed but not disinfected between procedures.

According to the Miami VA, this creates a small risk of infection with viruses Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).  Therefore, they are:

• Notifying patients who had endoscopies between May 2005 and March 12, 2009 of the risk for infection.
• Establishing a Special Care Call Center at (305) 575-7256 or 1-877-575-7256
  where patients can call with questions or to schedule an appointment for hepatitis or HIV blood testing.
• Opening Special Care Clinics for follow-up care and testing for potentially affected patients Miami VA Medical Center, the Broward County VA Clinic, the Homestead VA Clinic and the Key West VA Clinic.

The Miami VA Healthcare System emphasizes that follow-up testing is only a precaution and that they know of no patients who have acquired an infection after endoscopy performed during the targeted dates.  There is no cost or co-pay for testing, and patients are eligible for transportation assistance. Read the rest of this entry »

Today take some time to honor those GI nurses, aides, and technologists who are saving lives every day by making colonoscopies safe and comfortable. Read the rest of this entry »

In their new colorectal screening guidelines, the American College of Gastroenterology, says that colonoscopy, beginning at age 50 and performed every 10 years, is the “preferred” screening test for colorectal cancer.  They recommend that physicians first offer this test alone rather than a menu of options.

However, if patients are not willing to have a colonoscopy, they support offering:

• Preferably. a cancer prevention test: Either flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 to 10 years  or CT colonography every 5 years.
• A test primarily for cancer detection: Preferred test is fecal immunohistochemical test for blood (FIT).

They further recommend that African Americans begin testing at 45 rather than 50. Read the rest of this entry »

Five years after a colonoscopy found and removed polyps, one in ten patients will have a new advanced polyp and six in every thousand will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Pooling studies that followed up nearly 10,000 men and women who had a polyp removed during a colonoscopy (polypectomy), researchers found 1,082 with a later advanced adenoma and 58 with colorectal cancer.  Median follow-up time was 47 months. Read the rest of this entry »

Digestive Health Specialists, located in Winston-Salem NC, will provide free screening colonoscopies to 50 people impacted by the economic turndown.  Patients who are over 50, have not been screened, and  have lost jobs and health insurance are eligible to apply.

Colonoscopies will be performed in Digestive Health Specialist facilities in Winstom-Salem, Kernersville, and Thomasville on March 14, 2009.  The program is part of March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Read the rest of this entry »