Why Is a Hospital Machine Tied to Superbugs Still in Use?
The FDA said a device for cleaning endoscopes had to go. Then something weird happened.
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When going in for a medical procedure, you probably want to be certain the doctor's instruments are clean. Following a recent turnabout by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that certainty may be a little harder to come by.
Six months ago, the regulator said a machine tied to a deadly superbug outbreak should be taken off the market “as soon as possible” to protect public health. Twice. But the machine, which uses water, disinfectant, and sound waves to clean certain surgical instruments, remains in use for some of those instruments after FDA officials backed down. And no one is saying precisely why.