America is suffering a saline shortage because of Puerto Rico's hurricane damage

[elix]

[I]This thread contains reports spanning a month and from various local news stations in the US; stories are ordered chronologically, oldest first.[/I]

[URL="http://www.king5.com/article/news/health/puerto-ricos-saline-shortage-impacts-patients-across-us/281-495567629"]Puerto Rico's saline shortage impacts patients across US[/URL]
[QUOTE]"Pretty much everybody could possibly have a saline bag administered to them when they come to the hospital," said Tim Holding, a hospital pharmacist.

According to FDA, Puerto Rico produces $40 billion worth of pharmaceuticals like saline for the U.S. market.

The shortage was felt right after the hurricanes wiped out infrastructure on the island, and from there it’s been a domino effect.

"It's continuously needed throughout the whole U.S., so every hospital needs it. So, once one's affected it then the other ones get backlogged, and the shortage starts happening," said Holding.[/QUOTE]

[URL="https://www.ksat.com/news/sa-hospitals-managing-saline-solution-shortage"]San Antonio hospitals managing saline solution shortage[/URL]
[QUOTE]Three of San Antonio’s largest hospital systems report they are managing the national shortage of saline solution due to a lack of reliable electricity that crippled Puerto Rico’s medical products industry after Hurricane Maria.

“We’re doing the best that we can to make sure that it does not affect, directly affect, patient care,” said Cynthia Koger, director of pharmacy at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

Elizabeth Allen, spokeswoman for University Health System, said in a statement:
[QUOTE][B]With only three primary manufacturers of IV solutions in the US, the entire supply chain is affected when any one of them has problems with production.[/B] The devastation of hurricane Maria to manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico and continued challenges to a reliable source of electricity has created such an event. Although we continue to receive a small allocation from our primary manufacturer, [B]we have had to resort to purchasing products from alternative suppliers at very high premiums, change distribution models, and in some cases to administer drugs via IV push instead of IV solutions.[/B] With an undetermined recovery date, one manufacturer has now gained approval to bring product in from other countries to help alleviate the situation. We will continue to ensure our patients receive optimal pharmaceutical care.[/QUOTE]

As part of the Hospital Corporation of America, one of the nation’s largest owners of hospitals, Methodist Healthcare has “access to a strong supply chain,” according to spokeswoman Palmira Arellano.

That’s why Arellano said in a statement Methodist Healthcare did not anticipate any effect on patient care.[/QUOTE]

[URL="https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm587290.htm"]The FDA Commissioner issued a statement on November 30th[/URL]
[QUOTE]Over the last few weeks, I’ve talked about the IV saline products shortage, which was exacerbated by Hurricane Maria. We have been closely working with one supplier, Baxter, to help them restore production operations in their Puerto Rico facilities. We also approved IV solution products from Fresenius Kabi and Laboratorios Grifols to mitigate the shortage, and both of those companies have been working to increase production of saline products. Thanks to steps like these, we now believe that the shortage situation related to IV saline products will improve by the end of 2017.

While we’ve made progress on this front, unfortunately there continue to be drug shortage issues that are of serious concern to the agency. [B]In addition to our ongoing concerns related to IV saline products, we also are particularly focused on the shortage of amino acids for injection. This product is of critical need for patients, including children and infants, who are not able to eat and need to receive their nutrition intravenously. Like with saline, an ongoing amino acid short supply situation was worsened by Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rican drug manufacturing facilities that manufacture this product.[/B]

Most notably, the hurricane disrupted Baxter’s amino acids production facilities in Puerto Rico; Baxter is one of the largest manufacturers of this product serving the U.S. market. In order to help mitigate this shortage, the FDA has worked with Baxter to facilitate the temporary importation of amino acids for pediatric and adult formulations of IV amino acids from Baxter facilities in the United Kingdom and Italy. We’re also working with other manufacturers of amino acids to increase supplies to address the shortage, including ICU Medical and B. Braun. ICU Medical had experienced manufacturing delays, but now plans to return to the market soon, which will further help address the shortage.[/QUOTE]

[URL="http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2017/12/18/mass-general-hospital-iv-fluids"]Mass. General Hospital Raises Red Flag About National Shortage Of IV Fluids[/URL]
[QUOTE]They're a staple of hospital treatment: the clear plastic bags of saline solution hanging on poles above the patients' beds. They're used to deliver medications ranging from antibiotics to chemotherapy, or simply to infuse fluid into patients who need it.

And they're now in short supply around the country — including at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is raising a red flag about the ongoing inconsistency in supplies of intravenous fluid.

"There's a general worry — and no one wants to run out of IV fluids," says the hospital's chief medical officer, Dr. O'Neil Britton. "Even though we have run very low in certain sections, we have not run out of any IV fluids, and none of this has impacted patient care, but it remains on what we call a high watch risk list."

The situation is concerning enough that Mass. General has brought in its Hospital Incident Command System — used for responses to emergency events — to ensure efficient communication with the staff about how to cope with the shortage as it changes day to day, Britton says.[/QUOTE]

[URL="http://www.krdo.com/health/health-news/critical-nationwide-saline-shortage/676472530"]'Critical' Nationwide Saline Shortage[/URL]
[QUOTE]The U.S. healthcare system is on the brink of a "significant public health crisis," according to a conglomeration of medical associations, in a letter to ranking members of congress, including Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, who sits on the Health Subcommittee.

And one of the most commonly-used IV fluid -- saline -- is at critically low levels, nationwide.
...
Saline levels should be back to normal in Spring of 2018.

The shortage just doesn't affect saline. The [URL="https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/drugshortages/default.cfm"]FDA's list of drug shortages[/URL] is nothing short of eye-popping, which pharmacy managers call "dangerously fragile." Some blame it on the conglomeration of pharmeceutical companies.[/QUOTE]

A common and very important thread in each of these news stories is that the medical systems have been taking various measures to prevent patient care from being impacted. The FDA has also taken steps to stabilize the situation by approving select foreign imports of saline to help alleviate demand. However, the supply chain is not expected to recover before February or March and hospitals continue to have to take extra measures to keep bagged saline in stock.

[RedBaronFlyer]

I'd been wondering when this would come up. My Aunt (who works in a hospital in Greenville) mentioned during Christmas celebrations that they have had to start administering most things they'd normally put into a saline bag via injection.

[Jrose14]

Good thing I've stocked up on saline for my contact lenses.

I hope the price doesn't skyrocket too heavily or anything like that. I had a panic attack last year (never had one before, I thought I was dying or something) and I got an IV drip of saline because it was apparently brought on by me not drinking anything for like two days, and I didn't notice it. But I certainly [I]did[/I] notice that I was billed $200+ dollars for a single bag of the shit, on top of ER fees.