Number of patients who were put at risk for HIV and hepatitis infection by Dr. Stephen Stein, a Denver-area oral surgeon who Colorado health officials say reused syringes and needles, often for days at a time, to administer IV medications and sedation. The state health department is advising any patient who received an IV at Stein’s Highlands Ranch or Cherry Creek office between September 1999 and June 2011 to seek testing for HIV and hepatitis B and C. Patients who received only local injections (directly into the mouth) do not need to be tested, health officials said. So far, no blood-borne infections have been linked to Stein, who has not practiced since June 2011. [via The Denver Post]
