Hospitals are facing a shortage of life-saving IV fluids due to the damage caused by Hurricane Helene — and some have resorted to giving patients Gatorade as an impromptu treatment.
Baxter International, one of the largest providers of IV solutions in the U.S., supplies roughly 60 percent of the intravenous solutions used every day during surgeries, in intensive care units, for dialysis patients and to administer life-saving medications.
However, the company’s production of these solutions has been halted due to the extensive damage caused by the Category 4 storm at the Marion, North Carolina plant.
To try to ration the fluids — which typically consist of water, electrolytes and sometimes sugar — some hospitals are canceling surgeries and turning to popular sports drinks to replenish crucial electrolytes in patients.
Baxter International’s manufacturing facility in North Carolina was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene and has ceased operations
Intravenous fluids are used in operating rooms, outpatient clinics, and home care to administer medications and rehydrate patients.
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IV fluids are essential supplies in hospitals, outpatient clinics and in home care.
The solutions are used to rehydrate patients with electrolytes – minerals in the body that aid in the functioning of the nerves, muscles and nervous system – to deliver medications, provide nutrients and replenish blood volume.
IV solutions are needed to treat everything from high blood pressure and dehydration to fatal sepsis – and one patient in the intensive care unit can use four to six bags of solution per day.
Baxter sent a letter to hospitals last week saying many of its products would only be available at 40 percent of normal inventory and the company implemented a 48-hour shipping freeze.
The facility remains closed as repairs are underway, but shipments have resumed. However, delivery capacity is still limited and there is no timeline for when the facility will reopen.
Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston sent an email to employees last week warning of a “severe and immediate shortage of IV fluids,” The Boston Globe reported.
The email said: “We need to take immediate action to conserve fluids. A Mass General Brigham Incident Management Team is monitoring this very dynamic situation and will respond with appropriate measures as it arises.”
Dr. Paul Biddinger, Mass General’s chief preparedness and continuity officer, said on a call with reporters that the hospital system is implementing conservation measures to save its IV fluid supply, including giving patients Gatorade and plain water instead of IVs to keep them moving. rehydrate.
Popular sports drinks such as Gatorade contain electrolytes intended to replenish the minerals lost when a person sweats or urinates.
When electrolyte levels are out of balance – due to dehydration, sweating or certain medications – people may experience fatigue, irregular heartbeat, confusion, cramps, numbness or convulsions, making IV electrolyte solutions potentially lifesaving.
Dr. Biddinger added that it is “too early to tell” what steps the health care system may need to take to address a potential long-term shortage, but it is considering using other suppliers.
Allina Health and M Health Fairview, two healthcare systems in Minnesota, confirmed against Fox 9 they would cancel some proceedings. Allina is rescheduling all non-emergency surgeries and M Health Fairview is postponing some elective procedures.
The University of Virginia Health Medical Center contacted patients this weekend to postpone some elective procedures, according to VPM News reported.
Oregon Health and Science University Hospital said in a statement that it was also affected by Baxter’s closure and is using oral hydration options when possible.
And Northwestern Medicine told NBC expects in a statement that this will be a long-term matter.
He said: ‘Patients are still receiving IV fluids when they need them. We will continue with normal medical services, but with an emphasis on conservation. We are closely monitoring this incident to determine how long it may last, how long we need to conserve, and ensure we have identified all areas of our business where services are affected.”
Dr Tricia Pendergast, an anesthesiologist, said on TikTok: “If you work in healthcare, I don’t need to explain to you how devastating an IV fluid shortage is. I personally used five or six in the operating rooms today.”
The doctor went on to say that she was in only one of the 34 ORs in her department, which was still only one of the five groups of ORs at the University of Michigan.
She continued, “And then there’s all the fluids that we use in the ICUs, the boluses that we give patients to keep them out of the ICUs on the floor. Think of all the people who use IV fluids as part of home care, as part of their medical supplies.
“This could be really bad.”
Her video received dozens of comments from healthcare professionals who said they were in the same situation, as well as from patients who rely on IV fluids.
Zach, a doctor who works in an intensive care unit in Florida, noted that the situation was “difficult.”
Another physician noted, “We were told that we had a five-day supply of IV fluids and that we should limit our use; not even just liquids, think of all the medications we give IV that have to be prepared with normal saline.’
Hurricane Helene made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 4 storm, bringing strong winds and deadly storm surges
A third said: ‘I received an email from our program director telling us that we should be conservative with our fluid use and try to avoid changing fluids unnecessarily unless we absolutely need it.’
One patient added, “I am 100% TPN and IV fluid dependent and was told to space it out when using fluids because my home health company doesn’t have enough and some types are on back order.”
National dialysis company DaVita Kidney Care sent a letter to employees informing them that Baxter’s plant in North Carolina is the main supplier of dialysis solutions and that the company was discontinuing products.
The company has 2,600 outpatient clinics in the U.S. serving 200,800 patients with kidney failure who are undergoing dialysis, a treatment that removes excess fluid, waste and toxins from the blood when the kidneys can no longer do so.
A woman said on Baxter canceled. He still has two weeks. Why on earth wouldn’t there be a backup plan?’
The American Hospital Association, which represents 5,000 hospitals and 270,000 physicians, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden, saying its members are reporting significant IV fluid shortages and that “patients across America are already feeling this impact, which will only worsen in the coming days and weeks.”
The AHA is asking the White House to declare a national emergency, as well as a national public health emergency, which would allow waivers from certain rules and regulations, making more supplies available more quickly.
The letter also stated that the FDA should declare a shortage of IV solutions, which would “allow certain flexibility that would otherwise not be available to healthcare providers.”
These would include allowing hospitals to prepare and widely distribute their own infusion fluids, as well as working with international suppliers capable of producing the solutions and removing barriers to the import of EU-approved products.
The AHA also wrote that the FDA should extend the shelf life of sterile IV solutions and dialysis solutions that have expired or are nearing their expiration dates.
Hurricane Helene left flooded roads, toppled trees and caused serious damage to infrastructure
The organization also called on the Biden administration to direct the Department of Defense to make transportation available for emergency supplies and to secure transportation to distribution centers, hospitals and other healthcare providers in need.
Finally, the AHA said the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice should be alert to and intervene in price gouging.
In a press release, Baxter International wrote that it had implemented hurricane preparedness plans before Helene, but the heavy rain and storm surge breached a levee, flooding the grounds and making bridges to the facility impassable.
President, CEO and Chairman José Almeida wrote in a statement: “The safety of our employees, their families and the communities in which we operate remains our utmost concern, and we are committed to helping ensure the reliable delivery of products to patients to guarantee.
“Recovery efforts are already underway, and we will spare no resources – human or financial – to resume production and ensure patients and healthcare providers have the products they need.”
In its latest update on Monday, the company said a temporary bridge has been constructed to restore access to the site and that it has made “steady progress in cleanup and restoration efforts.”
Baxter also said it is working with the FDA to obtain supplies from international partners.