VA contacting veterans who received prostate biopsies.Some veterans who received prostate biopsies between 1997 and 2001 at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities This is a list of VA medical facilities by location. VA medical facilities are run by the Veterans Health Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. in 11 states, the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). and Puerto Rico may have been treated with improperly disinfected instruments, according to VA officials. Although the VA has not received any reports of patients being harmed, the department is notifying all veterans who were treated by the equipment called a "prostate biopsy transducer." The equipment in question was used at the following facilities: District of Columbia; Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Johnson and Washington counties. ; Togus, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fort Harrison and Miles City, Montana; Las Vegas, Nevada; Buffalo and Canandaigua, New York; Cincinnati, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Portland, Oregon; San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (IPA: [saŋ hwaŋ]) (from the Spanish San Juan Bautista, "Saint John the Baptist") is the capital and largest municipality on Puerto Rico. ; Memphis, Murfreesboro and Nashville, Tennessee; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. VA inspectors found that the equipment used for the prostate biopsies was being cleaned and disinfected after each procedure, but some equipment was not being scrubbed by a brush after each use. Improperly scrubbed equipment carries a small risk of exposing patients to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus human immunodeficiency virus n. HIV. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) A transmissible retrovirus that causes AIDS in humans. . VA medical centers are notifying veterans who have had prostate biopsies encouraging them to be tested for possible infections. |
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