As we enter the New Year, it is hard to believe that the nation is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Helene.
It appears that the country is still dealing with a shortage of intravenous (IV) fluids in the US, and the ongoing situation remains a critical issue for hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide.
In late September, the historic storm caused significant damage to Baxter International’s manufacturing facility in North Carolina. The manufacturer was responsible for about 60% of the IV fluids used by American hospitals, equivalent to about 1.5 million bags.
The problem was so severe that the Biden administration invoked the wartime powers of the Defense Production Act to speed the rebuilding of a major American factory of intravenous fluids in mid-October.
While the factory remains offline, the Food and Drug Administration has greenlighted Baxter to import IV fluids from its other plants around the world. Officials say they are also backing plans to airlift more supplies into the U.S.”It turns out, a huge part of my time has been taken up, including today, on very basic supply chain issues across every commodity that we regulate,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said earlier this month at a meeting of the agency’s science advisers.Califf warned shortages were likely to worsen in the coming years, as many generic drugmakers are racing to cut costs amid growing threats to supply chains.The FDA announced Friday that it had declared three more IV fluids in shortage, adding to an ongoing shortage of other IV supplies now worsened by the closed plant.
The importance of IV fluid use in medicine is hard to overstate. They are vital for maintaining proper hydration and restoring electrolyte balance in patients. This is particularly important in cases of severe dehydration.
IV fluids serve as an efficient vehicle for delivering medications directly into the bloodstream, which allows for rapid distribution of drugs throughout the body and enables quick therapeutic effects. The fluids also facilitate blood transfusions.
Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the shortage will last until March.
The FDA announced that IV fluid containers of all sizes have been added to its medical device shortages list, with the shortage expected to persist through March 2025.The FDA cited an acute increase in demand as the primary factor behind the supply constraint. The shortage affects a wide range of IV containers, which are critical for the administration of fluids and medications in hospital settings.The announcement comes as hospitals and medical facilities report growing concerns about their ability to meet patient needs due to limited availability of IV products and devices.
Hospitals, such as Onvida Health in rural Yuma, Arizona, monitor their supplies and rationing as needed.
Michael Tracy, an orthopedic surgeon at the hospital said it’s been challenging especially during these winter months.“Our population tends to double when the winter visitors arrive. So when we shifted from the summer to the winter months we had a much higher population which unfortunately means many more patients in the hospital needing those same fluids,” said Tracy.Although they’ve been able to get back to doing some elective surgeries, he said it’s all based on their daily supply.“It does tend to change day to day which products are available and which products are limited. We have to keep a very close eye on our shipments,” Tracy said. “We’ve had to become really good stewards of the limited amount of IV fluids that are available to us.”He said the hospital has been busy with a bigger population in Yuma during the winter months.Tracy said emergency visits have not been disrupted, and they’ve been able to meet the needs of patients who need IV fluids the most.
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