For all of you who are in EMS...Are you also having this problem?
We were notified last week that there is a nationwide shortage of D50. We are using what we have sparingly, and have been told not to expect any until mid September. The alternative is glucagon. This is very bad news for diabetics who need EMS for hypoglycemia. This could cost lives.
Lasix (furosemide) is also in short supply. Luckily, we switched to Bumex some time ago, but there are agencies in the area that are scrambling to find alternatives, then modify protocols and conduct training in order to make a change to a more available drug.
Today, we got a memo that there are no prefilled syringes of epinephrine 1:10,000 to be had anywhere. That leaves us with two options:
- Instead of pushing 1mg of epi every 3 to five minutes for codes, we are going to be doing epi drips at 200mcg per minute in a drip.
- We can make our own 1:10,000 through other means, like mixing it as needed from epi 1:1,000 ampules.
Both of these take time and distract medics from working the problem.
All of this has me wondering: What happened? Why did the other makers of these drugs go out of business? Is this because of Obamacare?
