Hospitals worldwide are short of saline. We can’t just switch to other IV fluids – here’s why

[Still Waters]

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Last week, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration added intravenous (IV) fluids to the growing list of medicines in short supply. The shortage is due to higher-than-expected demand and manufacturing issues.

Two particular IV fluids are affected: saline and compound sodium lactate (also called Hartmann’s solution). Both fluids are made with salts.

There are IV fluids that use other components, such as sugar, rather than salt. But instead of switching patients to those fluids, the government has chosen to approve salt-based solutions by other overseas brands.

So why do IV fluids contain different chemicals? And why can’t they just be interchanged when one runs low?

https://theconversation.com/hospitals-worldwide-are-short-of-saline-we-cant-just-switch-to-other-iv-fluids-heres-why-235584