Sloppy medical procedures at LA hospital caused fatal bacterial outbreak

On December 4, White Memorial Medical Center closed its neonatal intensive care unit for two weeks after five infants contracted Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. The deaths of two of the children have been attributed to the infection.

The hospital also temporarily closed its pediatrics intensive care unit, where two older children tested positive for the same bacteria. However, hospital officials determined that those children had not been infected by the same strain as the infants, and the pediatric ward soon reopened.

California health inspectors released their report on January 23, concluding that the bacterial outbreak stemmed from hospital workers' improper sterilization of the laryngoscope blades used in the insertion of breathing tubes. Rather than following official sterilization procedure, the respiratory therapy staff had washed the blades with soap, tap water and alcohol wipes.

White Memorial has said that state's report "simply confirms the hospital's preliminary findings." The hospital said that since the outbreak it has been working closely with experts and public officials, and that no new infections have been reported.

P. aeruginosa is a common pathogen with a tendency to attack those with compromised immune systems. Because the bacteria is naturally resistant to wide variety of antibiotics, such infections can be particularly dangerous. Of the seven families of antibiotics known to function against P. aeruginosa, six must be administered by injection. This has led many hospitals to limit their use of the seventh family, the fluoroquinolones (which includes ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin), for fear of encouraging the evolution of a fluoroquinolone-resistant strain of the disease.

P. aeruginosa is responsible for approximately 10 percent of hospital-acquired infections.

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