Hospitals are facing a shortage of life-saving intravenous fluids due to damage caused by Hurricane Helene, and some have resorted to giving patients Gatorade as a makeshift treatment.
Baxter International, one of the largest providers of IV solutions in the U.S., provides approximately 60 percent of the IV solutions used every day during surgeries, in intensive care units, for dialysis patients, and to administer life-saving medications.
However, the company’s manufacturing of those solutions was halted due to extensive damage the Category 4 storm caused to its facility in Marion, North Carolina.
To try to ration 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 plant in North Carolina was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene and has ceased operations.
Intravenous fluids are used in operating rooms, outpatient clinics, and home health care to administer medications and rehydrate patients.
Intravenous fluids are essential supplies in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and home health care.
The solutions are used to rehydrate patients with electrolytes (minerals in the body that aid in the function of nerves, muscles, and the nervous system), administer medications, provide nutrients, and replenish blood volume.
Intravenous solutions are needed to treat everything from high blood pressure and dehydration to fatal sepsis, and a patient in the ICU may use four to six bags of solution per day.
Baxter sent a letter to hospitals last week stating that many of its products would only be available at 40 percent of normal supply and the company implemented a shipping hold for 48 hours.
The facility remains closed as recovery efforts continue, but shipments have resumed. However, supplies are still at limited capacity and there is no timeline for reopening facilities.
Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston sent an email to employees last week warning that it was experiencing a “severe and immediate shortage of intravenous fluid,” The Boston Globe reported.
The email said: ‘We must act immediately to conserve fluids. “A Mass General Brigham incident management team is monitoring this very dynamic situation and will respond with appropriate measures as this develops.”
Dr. Paul Biddinger, Mass General’s chief preparedness and continuity officer, said in a phone 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 intravenous to rehydrate them.
Popular sports drinks like Gatorade contain electrolytes intended to replenish minerals lost when a person sweats or urinates.
When electrolyte levels become unbalanced (from dehydration, sweating, or some medications), people may experience fatigue, irregular heartbeat, confusion, cramps, numbness, or seizures, making intravenous solutions with electrolytes potentially lifesaving.
Dr. Biddinger added that it is “too early to say” what steps the health system will need to take to address potential long-term shortages, but he is considering using other providers.
Allina Health and M Health Fairview, two health systems in Minnesota, confirmed to Fox 9 they would be canceling some procedures. 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 over the weekend to postpone some elective procedures, VPM News reported.
Oregon Health and Science University Hospital said in a statement that it was also affected by the Baxter closure and is using oral hydration options when possible.
And Northwest Medicine said NBC in a statement the hospital anticipates that “this will be a long-term problem.”
He said: ‘Patients still receive intravenous fluids when they need them. We are continuing with normal medical services, but emphasizing conservation, and are carefully monitoring this incident to determine how long it may last, how long we may need to preserve, and ensure we identify all areas of our business where services are affected.’
Dr. Tricia Pendergast, anesthesiologist, saying on TikTok: ‘If you’re in healthcare, I don’t need to explain to you how devastating IV fluid shortages are. I personally used five or six of them today in the operating rooms.’
The doctor went on to say that she was in only one of 34 operating rooms in her department and that it was still only one of five sets of operating rooms at the University of Michigan.
He continued: ‘And then there’s all the fluid we use in the ICUs, those boluses we give to patients to keep them out of the ICUs on the floor. Think about all the people who use IV fluids as part of home care, as part of their medical supplies.
“This could be really, really bad.”
His video received dozens of comments from health professionals who said they were in the same situation, as well as patients who rely on intravenous fluids.
Zach, a doctor who works in an ICU in Florida, said the situation was “tough.”
Another doctor commented: ‘We were told we had a 5-day supply of IV fluids and to limit our use; Not even just liquids, think of all the medications we give intravenously that require combination with normal saline.’
Hurricane Helene made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 4 storm, bringing strong winds and deadly storm surge.
A third said: “I received an email from our program director telling us to be conservative with our fluid use and to try to avoid changing fluids unnecessarily unless absolutely necessary.”
One patient added, “I am 100% dependent on TPN and IV fluids and was told I had to extend myself when using fluids because my home health company doesn’t have enough and some types are backordered.”
National dialysis company DaVita Kidney Care sent a letter to employees informing that Baxter’s North Carolina plant is the largest provider of dialysis solutions and that the company was holding back 48 shipments of products.
The company has 2,600 outpatient clinics in the U.S. that serve 200,800 kidney failure patients undergoing dialysis, a treatment that removes excess fluid, waste and toxins from the blood when the kidneys no longer can.
A woman said in X: ‘My husband is on peritoneal dialysis and was scheduled to have fluids delivered today. Baxter cancelled. You have two weeks left. Why 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, stating that its members are reporting substantial shortages of intravenous fluids and that “patients across the United States are already feeling this impact, which will only deepen in the coming days and weeks.”
The AHA is asking the White House to declare a national emergency and a national public health emergency that would allow waivers of certain rules and regulations, making more supplies available more quickly.
The letter also said the FDA should declare a shortage of intravenous solutions, which would allow for “certain flexibilities that would not otherwise be available to healthcare providers.”
These would include allowing hospitals to prepare their own intravenous fluids and distribute them widely, as well as working with international suppliers capable of producing the solutions and removing barriers to importing EU-approved products.
The AHA also wrote that the FDA should extend the shelf life of sterile intravenous solutions and dialysis solutions that have passed or are approaching their expiration date.
Hurricane Helene left roads flooded, trees down and severe 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 ensure transportation to distribution centers, hospitals, and other health care providers in need.
Finally, the AHA said the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice should be alert and intervene in the event of price gouging.
In a news release, Baxter International wrote that it had implemented hurricane preparedness plans ahead of Helene, but heavy rain and storm surge breached a levee, flooding the site, and it said bridges to the facility are impassable.
Chairman, CEO and President José Almeida wrote in a statement: “The safety of our employees, their families and the communities in which we operate remains our primary concern and we are committed to helping ensure a reliable supply of products to patients. “.
“Remediation efforts are already underway and we will spare no resources (human or financial) to resume production and help ensure patients and providers have the products they need.”
In the latest update on Monday, the company said a temporary bridge had been established to restore access to the site and that “steady progress had been made on cleanup and remediation.”
Baxter also said it is working with the FDA to obtain supplies from international partners.