FDA and hospitals are scrambling as the shortage of hydration products deepens

FDA and hospitals are scrambling as the shortage of hydration products deepens

The FDA has worked to face down shortages of important, sometimes life-saving, drugs that have sprung up in recent years. But occasionally something as mundane as saline solution can set off a scramble, particularly when the flu season puts added pressure on supplies, leaving hospitals to look for ways to preserve scarce products.

“We have not heard of anyone running out of the IV solutions at this point, but we know the hospitals are not comfortable with the low supplies,” Valerie Jensen, FDA’s associate director for drug shortages told Reuters. Escalating hospital admissions for flu is adding pressure, she said. “The increase in demand pushed this into a shortage.”

Hospitals in the U.S. go through millions of bags of such products in a week, the FDA said. Bona Benjamin with the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, told the news service that the shortage is serious and hospitals are using oral rehydration fluids or smaller IV saline bags with slower drip rates when appropriate to cope.

Read more: FDA and hospitals are scrambling as the shortage of hydration products deepens – FiercePharma http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/fda-and-hospitals-are-scrambling-shortage-hydration-products-deepens/2014-01-30#ixzz2uuRjX5mB
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