Hospitals forced to give Gatorade to patients after Hurricane Helene destroys IV fluid factory

Hospitals in North Carolina are forced to give Gatorde to patients after Hurricane Helene damaged a factory that supplies its IV fluids.

Flooding from Hurricane Helene destroyed a Baxter International plant in North Cove, North Carolina . The facility makes a significant amount of the US's supply of sterile intravenous fluids. It also makes fluids for patients on home kidney dialysis.

Baxter closed the factory while the damage is repaired . The facility is limiting how much supply customers can order to prevent stockpiling and keep access equal for all patients.

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Mass General Brigham, which includes 12 hospitals, is giving some patients water or Gatorade instead of starting an IV. Dr. Paul Biddinger said Baxter told the Massachusetts health system it will get about 40% of the supply it normally receives.

He said patients who need an IV can still get one and the system's clinical services are operating normally. He said hospitals are making small changes to stretch supplies of IV fluids, which are used to keep patients hydrated and to give medicine .

Dr Biddinger said IV solutions also must be kept sterile and don't have long shelf lives. "Maintaining a large supply of things that expire quickly is actually pretty tricky," he said.

However, the impact of the storm damage to the Baxter factory could be felt across the US for some time. Mike Ganio, of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, said hospitals may reschedule elective surgeries to conserve IV fluids. He also said nurses could inject some medicines into patients with a syringe instead of using an IV.

He said: "The damage to a manufacturing facility - especially one that makes sterile products - is not a quick fix."

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The US Food and Drug Administration has not declared any new shortages tied to products made at Baxter's plant.

Baxter is still assessing damage at the North Carolina facility and has no timeline yet for when the plant will resume operations. The facility is looking at using other factories around the world to fill some of the supply gap.