Hospitals in 海角换妻 and across the country are grappling with a shortage of intravenous fluid after Hurricane Helene disrupted supply.
Medical experts call it unusual.
鈥淚n my career, and over 25 years, I've never seen actual shortages of IV fluid to the point where we're being suggested that we be very careful about how we use it,鈥� said Dr. Christopher Moore, an emergency physician at Yale New Haven Hospital.
He said Yale is asking doctors to be judicious about administering IV fluids, which are used routinely to treat dehydration, internal bleeding, infection and trauma.
Moore was quick to reassure patients and families that the situation is difficult, but not dire.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not out of IV fluids, I don鈥檛 want anyone to panic,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 crucial to what we do at the emergency department.鈥�
Across the country, some hospitals are delaying elective surgeries amid the shortage.
Yale told 海角换妻 it鈥檚 working with suppliers to ensure adequate supplies across its hospital system.
UConn Health said it has a task force set up to work on conservation strategies and patient care.
鈥淟ike most facilities across the country, we are anticipating a long duration event,鈥� UConn said in a statement. 鈥淲hile patient care is not currently impacted, the situation continues to be concerning and we are exploring all avenues to maintain required supply levels.鈥�
UConn鈥檚 IV fluids 鈥� saline solution made in a way that is safe to administer to patients intravenously 鈥� comes from a Baxter International facility located in North Cove, North Carolina, which was impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Baxter said the company is working on resuming transportation out of the facility, expects engineering certification within weeks, and plans on communicating with hospitals its anticipated produced plans in two weeks.
鈥淲e have resumed shipments to hospitals and dialysis patients after the temporary hold last week,鈥� the company said of its allocation plans. 鈥淲e have moved finished goods from our North Cove site that were not impacted by the storm and are inspecting other finished goods onsite. This inventory will be used to support current allocations in the short term. Several of our global plants are scaling and ramping production to help meet U.S. needs, and we expect to receive product from these sources throughout the month of October.鈥�
