NATIONAL BRIEFING / COLORADO
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A former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of patients to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic, federal authorities said.
Kristen Diane Parker faces criminal charges for allegedly swapping syringes filled with a saline solution for ones filled with the painkiller Fentanyl while working at surgery centers in Colorado Springs and Denver.
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Denver alleges that Parker injected herself with the narcotic.
About 6,000 patients are being advised that they may have been exposed to hepatitis C, which is incurable. The disease can cause serious liver problems, including cirrhosis and cancer.
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