There have been instances where specialized medical scopes have been linked with deadly bacterial outbreaks. Lately, federal health officials have come up with extra safety measures that hospital can adopt to clean these scopes.

Along with this, the FDA officials stated that not every hospital had the needed resources to take the steps, which included sterilizing scopes with toxic gas. They have also affirmed that there are chances that even after adopting these steps, the risk of infection transmission cannot be completely ended.

Despite the presence of so many complications, the FDA has stated that the devices should be available for patients because of the benefits they provide. The medical scope known as duodenoscope comprises of a flexible tube and a specialized tip that surgeons use to enter into the digestive tract to find out and treat any blockage of the bile and pancreatic ducts.

The scopes prove extremely useful and as per data, they are used in estimated half-million procedures per year. The scopes were in news after two Los Angeles hospitals reported that patients have been infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria despite the fact that they have followed the cleaning instructions given by manufacturers.

In the situation, the FDA also came under limelight and had to face criticism. In May, the agency formed a panel comprising of outside experts to make recommendations to improve the cleaning and design of the scopes. All these steps come with additional costs and there are also potential drawbacks.