2,400 people in Oregon potentially exposed to HIV, hepatitis through botched anesthesia

Around 2,400 people treated in Oregon hospitals may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis or other blood-borne infections due to an anesthesiologist's improper administration of drugs.

Providence, a health care system that operates in several states, notified the public of the exposure risk in a statement Thursday (July 11). 

"We recently learned that Providence's comprehensive infection control practices may not have been followed by a physician during some procedures at Portland-area hospitals," the statement reads. These hospitals include Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center and Providence Portland Medical Center. Providence is notifying "approximately 2,200 patients" seen at the former facility and two seen at the latter medical center of this potential risk.

In addition, the same physician practiced at a Legacy Health hospital called Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center. "We are in the process of sending letters notifying 221 patients who may have been impacted," a Legacy spokesperson shared in a statement emailed to Live Science.

Related: Nearly 450 hospital patients in Massachusetts may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV

The physician was an anesthesiologist employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG), which partners with hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in western Oregon. 

"When we learned that the physician had violated infection control practices, we suspended him, informed our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then began an investigation that resulted in the physician's termination," an OAG spokesperson told Live Science in an email. "Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future."

The physician's name has not been disclosed, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The actions of this anesthesiologist put patients "at low risk" of being exposed to various blood-borne diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B and C, Providence representatives said. According to the AP report, the provider worked with Providence between 2017 and 2023. 

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are encouraging these patients to get a blood test to screen for the aforementioned infections, at no cost," Providence said. Any patients that test positive will be notified and then informed of possible next steps. 

Legacy Health emphasized that "this was an isolated situation involving a single provider." The anesthesiologist was contracted to work at the Legacy facility for about six months, starting in December 2023. 

The health care systems' statements don't note exactly how their safety protocols were violated. However, the Oregon Health Authority told the AP that the investigation centered around an anesthesiologist who delivered intravenous anesthesia and practiced "unacceptable" infection control while doing so. 

Generally speaking, health care facilities have strict standards for how to sanitize needles, syringes and other equipment before they're used on a given patient, and a single needle and syringe should never be used for multiple people.

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