Nashua-based Southern New Hampshire Medical Center may have exposed an 85-year-old patient to HIV after mistakenly injecting him with an insulin pen used earlier on an HIV-positive patient, reports ABC News.
Eugene Devoyd came to the New Hampshire hospital in November due to a medical emergency involving his diabetes, when he was injected with the re-used insulin pen.
A document from the hospital indicates a different needle was attached to the insulin pen before it was used on Mr. Devoyd, although the patient was later informed the hospital mistakenly injected him with a pen previously used on an HIV-positive patient. Mr. Devoyd was later prescribed an antiviral medication in an attempt to prevent HIV infection, according to the report.
"The same insulin pen that was used on an HIV-positive patient was used to inject Eugene, but with a different needle," the document reads, according to ABC News.
Now, Mr. Devoyd's son, Chris Devoyd, is worried he may have exposed himself to HIV after accidentally pricking himself with a needle while checking his father's blood sugar.
Both Chris Devoyd and his father have received an initial round of HIV testing and are HIV-negative so far.
In a statement released Jan. 16, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center said it is unable to discuss individual treatment due to confidentiality laws.
"Due to federal and state confidentiality laws and our utmost commitment to patient confidentiality, we cannot discuss individual treatment at our facility," the statement reads, according to WMUR. "If a potential issue arises, it would receive prompt attention, as well as a quality review, to determine all factors and to identify opportunities for improvement and corrective actions, as warranted."