Olympus America has been heavily criticized for the duodenoscopes that became contaminated and infected patients at various hospitals, but one lawmaker has shifted the scrutiny to scope maker Pentax Medical, according to the L.A. Times.
On March 27, U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Pentax Medical, another manufacturer whose scopes have been linked with outbreaks of infections, to ask what the company is doing to urgently address the situation.
Rep. Lieu questioned when Pentax first learned about the scopes' role in causing infections, how the company responded to the revelation and how Pentax is reacting to Olympus' newly released cleaning procedures.
A Pentax spokesman responded Monday, saying Pentax will answer the lawmaker's questions directly. No response has yet been issued by Pentax.
Rep. Lieu and other members of Congress are also seeking hearings in Washington about the Food and Drug Administration's and manufacturers' response to the infection outbreaks, according to the report.
More articles on medical scopes:
Olympus issues urgent update on how to clean scopes linked to CRE outbreak
Are faulty cleaners, not complex scopes, to blame for 'superbug' infections?
Contaminated scopes expose patients to E. coli at Hartford Hospital