Hospitals are facing a shortage of life-saving IV 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 IV solution suppliers in the US, provides roughly 60 percent of the intravenous solutions used every day during surgeries, in intensive care units, for dialysis patients and to administer life-saving medications.
The company’s manufacturing of those solutions has been halted, however, because of the extensive damage the category 4 storm caused at its facility in Marion, North Carolina.
To try and ration the 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 North Carolina manufacturing facility was severely damaged in Hurricane Helene and has ceased operations
Intravenous fluids are used in operating rooms, outpatient clinics and home healthcare to administer medications and rehydrate patients.
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IV fluids are essential supplies in hospitals, out patient clinics and in home healthcare.
The solutions are used to rehydrate patients with electrolytes – minerals in the body that assist in nerve, muscle and nervous system function – administer medications, provide nutrients and replenish blood volume.
IV solutions are needed to treat everything from high blood pressure and dehydration to deadly sepsis – and one patient in the ICU may use four to six bags of solution per day.
Baxter sent a letter to hospitals last week that many of its products would only be available at 40 percent of normal supply and the company implemented a shipment hold for 48 hours.
The facility remains closed as recovery efforts are ongoing, but shipments have resumed. However, supplies are still at limited capacity and there is no timeline for when the facility will reopen.
Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston sent an email to employees last week warning it was experiencing a ‘serious and immediate IV fluid shortage,’ The Boston Globe reported.
The email said: ‘We must immediately act to conserve fluids. A Mass General Brigham incident Management Team is monitoring this very dynamic situation and will respond with appropriate measures as this unfolds.’
Dr Paul Biddinger, Mass General’s chief preparedness and continuity officer, said on a phone call with reporters the hospital system is implementing conservation measures to save its supply of IV fluids, including giving patients Gatorade and plain water instead of IVs to rehydrate them.
Popular sports drinks like Gatorade contain electrolytes meant to replenish the minerals lost when a person sweats or urinates.
When electrolytes levels are thrown out of balance – through dehydration, sweating or some medications – people may experience fatigue, irregular heartbeat, confusion, cramping, numbness or convulsions, making IV solutions with electrolytes potentially life-saving.
Dr Biddinger added it’s ‘too early to tell’ what steps the health system may need to take to deal with a possible long-term shortage but it is considering using other suppliers.
Allina Health and M Health Fairview, two healthcare 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’s 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 it was also affected by Baxter’s closure and is using oral hydration options when possible.
And Northwestern Medicine told NBC in a statement the hospital anticipates ‘this will be a long-term issue.’
He said: ‘Patients are still getting IV fluids when they need them. We are continuing normal medical services but emphasizing conservation, and we are carefully monitoring this incident to determine how long it may last, how long we may need to conserve, and making sure we identified all areas of our enterprise where services are affected.’
Dr Tricia Pendergast, an anesthesiologist, said on TikTok: ‘If you’re in healthcare, I do not need to explain to you how devastating an IV fluid shortage is. I personally used five or six of them in the operating rooms today.’
The doctor went on to say that she was in only one OR out of 34 in her department and that was still only one of five groups of ORs at the University of Michigan.
She continued: ‘And then there’s all of the fluid that we use in the ICUs, those boluses we give patients to keep them out of the ICUs on the floor. Think of all the people who use IV fluids as part of home care, as part of their medical supplies.
‘This could be really really bad.’
Her video received dozens of comments from healthcare professionals who said they were in the same situation, as well as from patients who are dependent on IV fluids.
Zach, a doctor working in a Florida ICU commented that the situation was ‘rough.’
Another doctor commented: ‘We were told we have a 5 day supply of IV fluids and to limit our usage; not even just fluids, think of all the medications we give IV that require compounding with normal saline.’
Hurricane Helene made landfall in North Carolina as a category 4 storm, bringing strong winds and deadly storm surges
A third said: ‘Got an email from our program director telling us to be conservative with fluid use and to try to avoid switching fluids unnecessarily unless we absolutely need it.’
A patient added: ‘I’m 100% TPN & IV fluid dependent and was told I need to spread out when I use fluids because my home health company doesn’t have enough & some kinds are on back order.’
National dialysis company DaVita Kidney Care sent a letter to employees that Baxter’s North Carolina plant is the primary supplier of dialysis solutions and the company was putting a 48 shipping hold on products.
The company has 2,600 outpatient clinics in the US serving 200,800 patients in kidney failure undergoing dialysis, a treatment that removes excess fluid, waste, and toxins from the blood when the kidneys no longer can.
A woman said on X: ‘My husband is on peritoneal dialysis and was scheduled to have fluids delivered today. Baxter canceled. He has two weeks’ worth left. Why on Earth would there not be a backup plan?’
The American Hospital Association, which represents 5,000 hospitals and 270,000 doctors, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden stating its members are reporting substantial shortages of IV fluids and ‘patients across American 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 for certain rules and regulations, making more supplies available faster.
The letter also said the FDA should declare a shortage of IV solutions, which would allow ‘certain flexibilities not otherwise available to healthcare providers.’
These would include allowing hospitals to prepare their own IV fluids and widely distribute them, as well as work with international suppliers capable of producing the solutions and remove barriers to importing EU-approved products.
The AHA also wrote the FDA should extend the self-life of sterile IV solutions and dialysis solutions that are beyond or nearing their expiration date.
Hurricane Helene left behind flooded roads and downed trees and caused 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 to secure transportation to distribution centers, hospitals and other healthcare providers in need.
Lastly, the AHA said the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice need to be on alert for and intervene in price gouging.
In a press release, Baxter International wrote it had implemented hurricane preparedness plans ahead of Helene but the heavy rain and storm surge breached a levee, flooding the site and said bridges to the facility are impassable.
President, CEO and chair José Almeida wrote in a statement: ‘The safety of our employees, their families, and the communities in which we operate remains our utmost concern, and we are committed to helping ensure reliable supply of products to patients.
‘Remediation efforts are already underway, and we will spare no resource – 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 has been established to restore access to the site and it’s made ‘steady progress on cleanup and remediation.’
Baxter also said it is working with the FDA on obtaining supplies from international partners.
