# Surgical tools washed in hydraulic fluid



## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

[font=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Surgical tools washed in hydraulic fluid [/font]
*An estimated 3,800 patients put in jeopardy*

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Associated Press[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Updated: 11:28 p.m. ET June 12, 2005[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RALEIGH, N.C. - 3,800 patients at two hospitals run by Duke University Health System were operated on last year with instruments that were washed in hydraulic fluid instead of detergent, hospital regulators said.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Duke Health Raleigh and Durham Regional hospitals put patients in “immediate jeopardy” in November and December by not detecting the problem, despite complaints from medical staff about slick tools, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The hospitals did not fix the problem for weeks, said the agency, which oversees patient care at hospitals that receive payments from federal insurance programs.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The mix-up apparently occurred when an elevator company drained hydraulic fluid into empty detergent barrels last summer. The detergent supplier later picked up the barrels and mistakenly redistributed them as washing fluid.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Duke Health officials assured patients in January that the likelihood of infection from the tools was “no more than the risk normally associated” with the procedures that the patients underwent.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, dozens of patients who were exposed to the surgical instruments have reported lingering health concerns ranging from fatigue and joint pain to problems requiring hospitalization, the The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported Sunday.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]At least 50 patients who developed complications have taken their concerns to lawyers, though no one has sued Duke or the hospitals. Two lawsuits have been filed against the elevator company and the detergent supplier.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Duke Health officials declined to comment further, citing possible lawsuits.[/font]


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_Disturbing is all that comes to mind_


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

holy cow! i work with hydraulic fluid everyday, its hard to think someone could be so careless like that, expecially in a hospital!! ugh


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## ijedic (Jan 18, 2005)

One would think that someone would have noticed the detergent not being sudsy?


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

yeah. not only that the smell alone should have done it!!!!


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

i know! hydraulic fluid doesnt smell a bit like detergent!!! thats awful!


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Isn't that amazing?

Do you suppose that somebody noticed the difference and thought it was just some new brand of cleanser?

Maybe the person washing the instruments has no sense of smell?

ooh! Maybe the protective gear that person wore at the time, to protect himself from the blood, kept him from feeling & smelling the fluid?


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

I wonder how the detergent company explains sales beyond the quantity of what it makes. We have audits where there are inventory counts to make sure we are not selling returns or scrap as new product.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

TheOldSalt said:


> ooh! Maybe the protective gear that person wore at the time, to protect himself from the blood, kept him from feeling & smelling the fluid?


haha not everyone wears protective gear oddsalt


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

There is a good side to everything. At least the surgical tools wouldnt rust being washed in hydraulic fluid.


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## mrmoby (Jan 18, 2005)

Sounds like a well oiled machine........


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

haha, this story has made my local news.


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

loco news for local news


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

TheOldSalt said:


> Do you suppose that somebody noticed the difference and thought it was just some new brand of cleanser?



i dunno about that....even I know what hydraulic fluid smells like!


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

they probably already did. i would have.


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