CardioExchange Archive

Five patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) at a single outpatient clinic in North Carolina were infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) during the procedure, according to a paper published online in the American Journal of Cardoliology. Public health officials from North Carolina and the CDC report that their investigation began in May 2008 when a patient not otherwise at risk for HCV infection tested positive for HCV RNA after a blood donation.

The investigators found that on 2 separate dates a total of 5 patients were newly infected with HCV. The likely cause of the infection was unsafe injection practices, due to the nuclear medicine technologist who “routinely drew up flush from multidose vials of saline solution using the same needle and syringe that had been used to administer radiopharmaceutical doses.”

The authors write that their “investigation adds outpatient cardiology practices to the growing list of venues where viral hepatitis transmission has occurred because of unsafe injection practices.” They conclude:

“Transmission of HCV in health care settings is entirely avoidable and could largely be prevented by increasing awareness of basic injection safety principles. In particular, health care providers should ensure that needles and syringes are never reused and should be cognizant of the risks associated with shared medication vials.”