U.S. Faces Critical IV Fluid Shortage

The slew of hurricanes bombarding the eastern U.S. as of late is having indirect impacts elsewhere. Hospitals across the country are facing shortages of IV fluid thanks to the closure of a critical manufacturing plant in North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Milton may also affect the IV fluid supply chain.

IV liquids are routinely given to hospitalized patients to treat and prevent dehydration, maintain a healthy level of electrolytes, and deliver certain drugs intravenously. Much of the country’s supply of IV fluids is provided by the company Baxter International. The temporary loss of the company’s plant in North Cove, North Carolina, due to severe flooding from Hurricane Helene has imperiled this essential component of inpatient care.

According to the American Hospitals Association (AHA), roughly 60% of the country’s daily supply of IV solution—about 1.5 million bags worth of fluid—is produced by the North Carolina plant. And its closure is already wreaking havoc on hospitals. Many health care systems have begun to delay elective surgeries and other nonemergency procedures to stretch out their supply of IV fluids, NBC News reported on Wednesday. Some hospitals are even having their less critically ill patients switch to drinking Gatorade, Stat News has reported.

On Monday, the AHA called on the Biden administration to declare a national emergency and take other actions to cushion the blow.

“Our members are already reporting substantial shortages of these lifesaving and life-supporting products. Patients across America are already feeling this impact, which will only deepen in the coming days and weeks unless much more is done to alleviate the situation and minimize the impact on patient care,” said AHA president Richard J. Pollack in a letter addressed to President Biden and other senior officials.

Hurricane Milton, the latest major storm system to reach the U.S., is also poised to make matters worse. B. Braun Medical, the country’s second-largest manufacturer of IV fluids, announced this week it would shut down two plants in Daytona Beach, Florida, that were expected to be hit by Milton.

In an open letter on Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra outlined a series of actions that the federal government will take to address the shortage. These include working with Baxter to speed up repairs of their facility, considering the extension of some IV products at the end of their shelf life, making it clear to hospitals that they can produce, or compound, their own IV fluids as needed, and potentially allowing the temporary importation of IV fluids from outside the country. At the same time, Becerra noted that the loss of the Baxter plant is likely to lead to “further constraints for IV fluids.”

Hurricane Helene is estimated to have directly killed at least 230 people so far, while four deaths have been attributed to Milton since it made landfall yesterday. As this IV fluid crisis shows, though, the fallout from these catastrophic, climate change-fueled storms threatens to be even larger.