IV plant in NC is down that is 60% of all IV fluids in the US gone. Cant import from spain. Mexico is it. Some hospitals only have a supply of days to a week where i live.

Being allocated at 40-50% of what you have ordered in the past

Not speading doom and gloom just a heads up

Used my share of IV solutions over the past two weeks. THanks for the heads up.

Push come to shove, it seems like it wouldn't be too hard to get some glass (read: able to easily be made sterile) containers and make some basic saline solution with distilled water.

1000ml distilled water plus 9 grams salt

This message has been edited. Last edited by: thumperfbc,

I don’t think using regular mined salt would be a good idea for saline

We got notice today from both the state and local medical control that we had a protocol exception for use of crystalloid fluids due to the coming shortage

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
I don’t think using regular mined salt would be a good idea for saline

I'm no chemist but I've seen it referenced in many places.... table salt is NaCl, the same thing in saline solutions for IV and washing. Purity is probably the main concern... but again... "if push came to shove"...

edit to add: this potential was first told to me by a board certified MD as an acceptable emergency response... distilled water or boiled water to sanitize, table salt in the right proportion. Care should be taken to ensure sterility throughout the process, but in emergencies, he pointed out, some sacrifices are made in order to maximize survival.

Granted, we may not be discussing that here... but it is a logical 'end of road' progression of the topic.

That’s really concerning! It’s crazy how dependent we are on just a few plants for essential supplies like IV fluids. I remember a time when my family was in the hospital, and the staff was scrambling to find enough supplies. It makes you realize how fragile the system can be. I hope hospitals can find a way to stock up and diversify their sources before it gets worse.

quote:

Originally posted by Phelen_Kell:
I hope hospitals can find a way to stock up and diversify their sources before it gets worse.

The problem with "stocking up" is that there is only so much that can be done. Many (almost all) supplies in hospitals have ridiculously short expiration dates and must be tossed out at that point. All facilities are inspected on a regular basis and penalized if expired supplies are discovered in use or potential use. Planned obsolescence at its finest. Gotta keep them suppliers in business. It's mostly a racket, but it's a reality.

Back in veterinary school we used to make what they called carboys of IV saline with 5 gallons distilled water and table salt. This was at a nationally accredited school. Never had any problems I'm aware of.

Obviously in practice I prefer the licensed stuff.

Tommy

The reason i posted this is some hospitals have only a 4 day supply amd are cancelling elective surgery cases.

We have a 90 day supply on hand. We prepared pist 2017 and with covid. We are looking good. Other places not so much

It's almost time for another Propofol shortage, eh? Those are always fun.

1flyn, thank you! I’m going to stay away from my hobbies for this month just in case. There is always the potential to go down in a corner (or on the lake) and fuck myself up. This is exactly like Katrina to me when President Bush more or less said lay off the gas. I believe that was August 31st of 2005 and he spoke on national telecasts and said lay off the gas for Labor Day. Fuck your boat, etc, stay home and grill. I did, using very little fuel for a few weeks meanwhile I saw people completely disregard, towing boats and what not. Same thing just IV’s right now. Can’t thank you enough for the warning.

My hospital notified me ( as well as all other practitioners) making us aware and asking us to limit IV solution as much as possible

It's going to be interesting with the change in protocols for hospitals and ems until this is resolved.

Is this the Pfizer I.V. plant in Rocky Mount NC? It got hit by a Tornado a year ago - warehouse area, not production area.

And ANOTHER tornado rolled through Rocky Mount a week ago Friday while Helene was hitting western NC.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Is this the Pfizer I.V. plant in Rocky Mount NC? It got hit by a Tornado a year ago - warehouse area, not production area.

And ANOTHER tornado rolled through Rocky Mount a week ago Friday while Helene was hitting western NC.

Baxter Healthcare in Marion, NC.

I have two nephews who are ER docs and they are concerned. One told me that at current expenditure rates, they will be out in two weeks.

It is going to be an interesting week for medical products…on top of there being no ETA for the North Cove plant getting back in action, there has been no approval yet for imported fluids to get in the distribution networks. On Friday, the HHS stated there was no shortage…when the plant cranking out 1.5M bags a day has been down for more than a week now, I would love to see what data they’re looking at to state there is no shortage.

With FL in the sights of another storm, getting med supplies will dust off memories of scrambling for PPE when Covid first hit.

Good luck to the providers out there!