IV Fluid Shortage Crisis: AORN's Guide to Perioperative Solutions

AORN is working with industry and association partners to inform you about shortages of medical supplies. Currently, the biggest shortage is for intravenous (IV) fluids. This is caused by the temporary closure of Baxter's North Carolina factory, which was damaged by Hurricane Helene.

AORN Resources for Information and Planning:

• AORN Town Hall Recording
  Watch the AORN town hall “Managing IV Fluid Shortages in Perioperative Care” which provides critical insights for perioperative teams on how to navigate this issue effectively.
  • Discussion includes:
    • The clinical impact of IV fluid shortages on perioperative patient care.
    • Strategies to maintain continuity of care and manage limited resources during procedures.
    • Collaborative approaches with pharmacists and healthcare teams to mitigate risks and ensure patient safety.
• Recommendations for Response to Disruptions in Availability of IV and Irrigation Solutions
• Understanding the Basics of Water Quality

Industry Resources:

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  The FDA has a page dedicated to Hurricane Helene and Baxter’s manufacturing recovery in North Carolina.
  • Information about temporary importation sources to help mitigate the shortages is found on this FDA page. Each product includes a letter detailing important prescribing information. These letters contain essential information about the key differences in labeling between the FDA-approved and imported product and provides a visual comparison of label differences. Some imported products will be labeled in languages other than English.

• Baxter - Important updates
  Please reach out to your Baxter representative or distributor for questions regarding supply. For customers who need additional assistance beyond their existing communications channels with Baxter, please contact [email protected].
  • Baxter – Hurricane Helene Clinical Resources for US Healthcare Professionals.
  • Baxter – US Medical Information Portal.
  • Baxter – Expiration dating extensions to 24 months. (Updated Oct. 28, 2024)
• ASHP
  The Pharmacy Practice and Quality at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has released IV conservation recommendations and operational strategies you should consider at your facility.
• AHVAP
  AORN partner Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals (AHVAP) has added information to the emergency resource page for this issue, which is available to all healthcare professionals. As of Tuesday, October 21, 2024, The AHVAP Team add more than 50 new resources to their Emergency Supply Chain Disruption Resource Center.
• ECRI
  Industry partners at the nonprofit ECRI are providing a tool and functional equivalent report, which identifies the top three alternatives from other manufacturers to the IV and irrigation solutions impacted. Download the ECRI Resource.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a press release on Wednesday, Oct. 9 on the impacts of Hurricane Helene. Among other items, the release states the “FDA will also expedite consideration of any shelf-life extension requests manufacturers submit for short-dated product.”

AORN continues to work closely with our partners across healthcare to identify issues and solutions – and we will keep you informed.