Surgical instruments, CT pan-scans under scrutiny

iWatch News and Medscape each report on patient safety issues.

iWatch News: Filthy Surgical Instruments: The Hidden Threat In America's Operating Rooms
Filthy, dangerous medical implements have been showing up in hospitals and outpatient surgery centers with alarming regularity. In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs admitted that 10,737 veterans in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia were given endoscopies or colonoscopies between 2002 and 2009 with endoscopes that may have been improperly cleaned (Eaton, 2/22). 

Medscape: CT Pan-Scans Raise Radiation Dose Without Improving Results
An Australian study of emergency department imaging practices has raised radiation safety concerns and new arguments about the clinical benefits of whole-body computed tomography (CT) imaging for the initial emergency department evaluation of critically injured patients. ... According to Dr. Stengel, the findings suggest that pan-scanning may be 26 times as likely to harm patients in the long run as to immediately help them in the acute care setting (Brice, 2/21).