FRIDAY, Feb. 20, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Contrary to what many people think, hookah water pipes do not filter out most of the heavy metals in tobacco, a new study warns.
Tobacco plants can absorb and accumulate heavy metals, such as copper, iron, chromium, lead and uranium. Long-term exposure to these heavy metals can increase smokers’ risk of head and neck cancers, as well as other diseases, the study authors said.
More[Posted 02/19/2015]
AUDIENCE: Gastroenterology, Surgery, Nursing, Risk Manager, Biomedical Engineering, Patient
ISSUE: The FDA wants to raise awareness among health care professionals, including those working in reprocessing units in health care facilities, that the complex design of ERCP endoscopes (also called duodenoscopes) may impede effective reprocessing. Reprocessing is a detailed, multistep process to clean and disinfect or sterilize reusable devices. Recent medical publications and adverse event reports associate multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in patients who have undergone ERCP with reprocessed duodenoscopes, even when manufacturer reprocessing instructions are followed correctly. Meticulously cleaning duodenoscopes prior to high-level disinfection should reduce the risk of transmitting infection, but may not entirely eliminate it.
The FDA is closely monitoring the association between reprocessed duodenoscopes and the transmission of infectious agents, including multidrug-resistant bacterial infections caused by Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) such as Klebsiella species and Escherichia coli. In total, from January 2013 through December 2014, the FDA received 75 medical device reports encompassing approximately 135 patients in the United States relating to possible microbial transmission from reprocessed duodenoscopes. It is possible that not all cases have been reported to the FDA. The agency is continuing to evaluate information about documented and potential infections from multiple sources, including medical device reports submitted to the FDA, the medical literature, the health care community, professional medical societies, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The FDA is actively engaged with other government agencies, including CDC, and the manufacturers of duodenoscopes used in the United States to identify the causes and risk factors for transmission of infectious agents and develop solutions to minimize patient exposure.
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