Skip Navigation LinksSkip Navigation Links
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Safer Healthier People
Blue White
Blue White
bottom curve
CDC Home Search Health Topics A-Z spacer spacer
spacer
Blue curve MMWR spacer
spacer
spacer

Notice to Readers Enterobacter cloacae Bloodstream Infections Associated with Contaminated Prefilled Saline Syringes -- California, November 1998

During November 2-5, 1998, 11 children who received outpatient therapy from the hematology/oncology service at a hospital in California developed sepsis; 10 had Enterobacter cloacae-positive blood cultures. All patients had received intravascular catheter flushes using prefilled saline syringes (CAPS, Braun-McGaw, Detroit, Michigan). Culture of an unopened prefilled syringe grew E. cloacae with identical biochemical profiles to that of the patients. On November 9, the manufacturer initiated a recall of the syringes.

Clinicians detecting episodes of sepsis or bloodstream infection associated with prefilled saline syringes are requested to report these episodes to CDC's Hospital Infections Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, telephone (404) 639-6413; fax (404) 639-6459; and to MedWatch, the Food and Drug Administration's Medical Products Reporting Program, telephone (800) 332-1088; fax (800) 332-0178; address: MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville MD 20852-9787; or on the World-Wide Web, http://www.fda.gov/medwatch.


Disclaimer   All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.

**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.

Page converted: 11/12/98

HOME  |  ABOUT MMWR  |  MMWR SEARCH  |  DOWNLOADS  |  RSSCONTACT
POLICY  |  DISCLAIMER  |  ACCESSIBILITY

Safer, Healthier People

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd, MailStop E-90, Atlanta, GA 30333, U.S.A

USA.GovDHHS

Department of Health
and Human Services

This page last reviewed 5/2/01