One has to wonder if there has been a war declared on childbearing.
We have been covering the baby formula shortage in this country. Despite the lack of media interest, the shortage continues and is not likely to be ending any time soon either.
Information Resources, Inc., (IRI) data indicates an approximate 30% out-of-stock rate is behind the empty spaces plaguing store shelves everywhere.”It has been such a struggle. We first learned about the recall back in February, and I had just stopped breastfeeding our daughter six days prior,” Jillian Arroyo, mother of one, told “Fox & Friends” host Ainsley Earhardt.”After learning about the recall, I had to start pumping again every two hours around the clock. I’ve now been breastfeeding for an additional six months that I wasn’t planning on breastfeeding… we have no end in sight,” she added.
Now there is a global shortage being reported for epidural catheters for kits, which are commonly used to relieve back and labor pain, as well as a spinal anesthesia for some surgeries.
At present, most of the catheter shortages are being reported by hospitals in Canada, with anecdotal reports of shortages in the United States. Epidural catheters are thin plastic tubes that are inserted into the lower back by a needle to allow physicians to deliver steroids and other pain medications to the spinal area.Health Canada last week added Flex-Tip epidural catheterization kits to its list of medical device shortages. The shortage began on July 18 and is expected to continue until the end of the year. The epidural kits are made by Arrow International of Pennsylvania, which did not respond to a PNN request for comment.
The reason for the shortage is tied to a supply chain issue related to the dye used in those kits.
This specific supply chain issue relates to the lack of supply of blue dye some manufacturers use to colour the special low-friction plunger-style epidural syringe. This syringe is important because anaesthetists use it to identify the epidural space in the patient’s back.The syringe is usually filled with saline and connected to the hollow epidural needle, which is then slowly advanced into the back.The anaesthetist places constant pressure on the syringe and when the epidural space is located, there is a “loss of resistance”. The saline passes easily into it, opening up this space so the epidural catheter can smoothly be passed into it
In June, I noted that there was a contrast dye shortage impacting the ability of hospitals to conduct specific procedures. The shortage continues and doesn’t appear to be abating until September.
The global shortage of iodinated contrast dye, which has forced hospitals to postpone CT scans and other imaging procedures since May, will last until the end of September, the American Hospital Association’s senior director of supply chain told Becker’s.The hiccup began May 11, when a COVID-19 shutdown halted production in a GE Healthcare factory in Shanghai. GE revamped its production levels nearly a month later, but when Becker’s {Hospital Review] asked for a projected timeline, a spokesperson declined to specify a date.
On a personal note, the epidural I received when I had my son was a blessing (he was over nine pounds). The reduction in pain aided my swift recovery. It is troubling that the supply chain crisis is impacting such an important pain management tool.
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