Publication Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2005
News Digest
News Digest
(February 16, 2005)
Hospital warns former patients of TB scare
Stanford Hospital has sent out letters to 92 former patients who underwent surgery last fall that they may have been exposed to tuberculosis. Endoscopes, which are used to guide breathing tubes for anesthesia, were not as completely sterilized as usual.
"It's a remote risk" that any of those patients would have been exposed to TB, said Sarah Sherwood, the hospital's media relations manager. And if a patient who underwent surgery last fall did not get a letter warning of a potential exposure, they are not at risk at all.
The letters to 92 former patients included an offer for a medical evaluation and possible TB test.
To date, no one has been infected with TB.
The hospital has already made "appropriate changes" in ensuring that surgical equipment is completely sterilized, said Dr. Joseph Hopkins, the hospital's associate chief of staff.
-- Don Kazak
Police seek help in assault case
Palo Alto police are looking for witnesses to a sexual assault that occurred in a parked car in downtown Palo Alto in the early morning hours last Friday.
A Menlo Park woman reported the assault at 5:15 a.m. Friday to Menlo Park police. The victim said she had been patronizing several downtown Palo Alto bars the night before and believes she was assaulted in a parked car.
The vehicle was possibly a compact and it had a light-colored interior. The suspect was described as a man with short, dark, thick spiky hair who spoke with a "Latin" accent.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Palo Alto Police Detective Zach Perron at (650) 329-2307.
-- Don Kazak
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