SEATTLE — Seattle Children's mailed 12,000 letters to families on Monday, nearly a week after announcing surgical equipment at the Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center was not properly sterilized under guidelines by Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
A spokeswoman said on Tuesday about 2,100 families contacted the hospital, which offered blood tests to families who may be impacted.
Families were asked last week to come in for blood tests for HIV and hepatitis. The hospital spokeswoman describes the risk of HIV or hepatitis B or C as “extremely low.”
Approximately 300 patients were tested, but Seattle's Children's is not aware of any confirmed infections, according to a news release.
Seattle Children's reports they have seen three false positives. The hospital released the following information about false positives:
- "Sometimes a lab test is positive when the condition really isn't present. This is called a 'false positive' result and it happens for a variety of reasons. For example, some patients have substances such as medications or antibodies in their blood that interfere with the laboratory test, causing it to be positive.
- "If there is any question about whether a result is a false positive, we do additional testing and collect additional clinical information to verify."
- "When we test a large population that has a very low risk for the condition (such as the patient population seen at Bellevue Clinic), false positives are more common."
Some parents did not wait for letters, and told KIRO 7 News that they were taking matters into their own hands.
“This should not be something that happens at Children’s Hospital,” said Yvonne McPherson. “It’s very scary.”
McPherson made an appointment for her son to see a doctor immediately.