Hospital Blunder: Patients Potentially Exposed to HIV

Approximately 4,000 hospital patients in Long Island, New York have potentially been exposed to dangerous blood-transmitted diseases, such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, according to local news reports.

The hospital in question, South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, has reportedly sent more than 4,000 of its patients letters notifying them of their potential exposure.

This exposure among patients may have occurred after receiving injections from an insulin pen cartridge that was used on more than one person. Insulin pens either come in the form of single-use needles or as a pen with a reservoir for multiple dosages and disposable needles.

While hospitals are expected to use single-use insulin pens on patients with questionable conditions (a potential for HIV or hepatitis), the Long Island hospital reportedly used a multi-use insulin pen on a great number of patients. While the needles of this pen was disposed of and replaced after each injection, hospital officials report that there is a chance that the chamber containing the insulin may have been contaminated by a back-flow of blood.

Still, a hospital representative says that the risk of infection from the insulin pen in question is very low. According to the letter sent to patients, the hospital chose to notify them in the interest of "an abundance of caution."

The patients who received the letter have been recommended to get tested for HIV and hepatitis within the next 60 days. South Nassau Communities Hospital is offering to conduct blood testing for these patients free of charge.

To prevent an incident such as this one from ever happening again, the hospital has declared that a new hospital-wide policy has immediately been enacted. This policy mandates that only single-use injection vials may be used for future insulin treatments.