Connect with us

Published

on

Hospitals around the country are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. Some hospital administrators say they are changing how they think about IV fluid hydration altogether.

This story also ran on NPR. It can be republished for free.

Hurricane Helene, which hit North Carolina in September, wrecked a Baxter International facility that produces 60% of the IV fluids used in the U.S., according to the American Hospital Association.

The company was forced to stop production and is rationing its products. In an update posted Nov. 7, Baxter said its North Cove facility had resumed producing some IV fluids. In an email to KFF Health News, the company wrote that customers will be able to order normal quantities of certain IV solutions products by the end of the year, but there is no timeline for when the North Cove facility will be back to prehurricane production levels.

Meanwhile, hospitals are facing seasonal strains on their already limited IV fluid resources, said Sam Elgawly, chief of resource stewardship at Inova, a health system in the Washington, D.C., area.

Weve been very aggressive in our conservation measures, Elgawly said, stressing that he does not believe patient care has been compromised. He told KFF Health News that across the system IV fluid usage has dropped 55% since early October.

Elgawly called the shortage a crisis that he expects to have to continue managing for some time. We are going to operate under the assumption that this is going to be the way it is through the end of 2024 and have adopted our demand/conservation measures accordingly, he said. Email Sign-Up

Subscribe to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing. Your Email Address Sign Up

At the end of the calendar year, many patients with insurance hurry to schedule surgical procedures before their deductibles reset in January. Elgawly is eyeing that typical surgical rush and the impending peak of respiratory virus season as he tries to stockpile IV fluid bags. Hospitals such as Inovas are using different ways to conserve, such as giving some medications intravenously, but without a dedicated IV fluid bag, known as a push medication.

You don’t even need a bag at all. You just give the medication without the bag, he said. There has been increasing literature over the last 10 to 20 years that indicates maybe you don’t need to use as much. And this accelerated our sort of innovation and testing of that idea.

Monica Coleman is a nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in North Chicago. She said using push medications takes more time out of a nurses already hectic schedule because then they need to monitor the patient.

This could increase adverse effects within the patient, because we’re giving the medication at a faster rate, she said.

Elgawly is also interested in retooling electronic health records to question doctor orders for more IV hydration.

Does the patient actually need that second bag? How did they do today with eating or drinking water or juice? They did well? They don’t need the bag. So it’s little conservation mechanisms like that that, when you add them across, you know, the 2,000-patient system that Inova is, make a significant dent, he said.

Simpler conservation measures could become common after the shortage abates, said Vince Green, chief medical officer for Pipeline Health, a small hospital system in the Los Angeles area that serves mainly people on Medicare and Medicaid.

First, Green would like to see data showing that patient outcomes arent affected. But for now, some of the new strategies just make sense to him. He has directed hospital staff to use up the entire IV bag before starting another.

If they come in with IV fluids that the paramedics have started, lets continue it. If it saves half a bag of fluids, so be it, but it adds up over time, he said.

Patients may be asked to take more accountability for their hydration, by drinking Gatorade or water rather than the default of hydrating through an IV, he said.

From an environmental aspect, we don’t need to have this much waste and fill up our landfills. If we could reduce stuff, I think it’d be wise, he said.

But hell feel better when his hospitals receive a full order, which could be weeks away. Green said they are down to a two-week supply, with an expected increase in hospitalizations due to respiratory virus season.

We’re purchasing every IV fluid bag that we can get, he said.

Jackie Fortir: @JackieFortier Related Topics Health Industry States Hospitals North Carolina Contact Us Submit a Story Tip

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Lauren Laverne given ‘all clear’ following cancer diagnosis

Published

on

By

Lauren Laverne given 'all clear' following cancer diagnosis

BBC presenter Lauren Laverne has said she has been given the “all clear” after being diagnosed with cancer.

The 46-year-old said in a post on social media that she will return to work next week on The One Show and has been working on new episodes of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

She said she is set to also return to her 6 Music show in the new year.

Laverne announced she was undergoing cancer treatment back in August after a screening test caught the disease “early and unexpectedly”.

She has not specified what type of cancer she had.

Thanking medical staff, friends and all those who sent her get well wishes, Laverne said on Sunday she would most like to thank her husband Graeme and her two children, who she said have been “absolutely extraordinary throughout”.

“It’s been a difficult time but one that has taught me so much about what really matters,” she wrote.

“I can’t say I suddenly regretted never having hiked the Inca Trail, more that I now see more beauty in ordinary things than I could have imagined, and feel more than ever that the small things in life – the connections we make and care we take with each other – are the big things really.”

A new episode of Desert Island Discs is due to air on 1 December, and will be a pre-recorded interview with comedian Mark Steel that is believed to have been done by Laverne before she went on leave.

Read more from Sky News:
Zayn Malik’s tribute to Liam Payne at show
Kanye West accused of sexual assault

She will return to record more episodes as well as Christmas editions of the series over the next few weeks.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “We’re delighted to welcome Lauren back to the studio this month for The One Show and Desert Island Discs, with new episodes airing on Radio 4 from 1 December, and we look forward to welcoming Lauren back to BBC Radio 6 Music in the new year.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Miami, SMU benefit as Bama, Ole Miss fall in poll

Published

on

By

Miami, SMU benefit as Bama, Ole Miss fall in poll

Alabama and Ole Miss tumbled out of the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Sunday, while Miami and SMU moved into the top 10 following a chaotic weekend in the SEC and across college football in general.

Oregon is No. 1 for the sixth straight week and Ohio State, Texas and Penn State held their places behind the Ducks, who are the last unbeaten team.

The shuffling begins at No. 5, where Notre Dame returned for the first time since Week 2 after beating Army for its ninth straight win.

No. 6 Georgia and No. 7 Tennessee each moved up two spots, No. 8 Miami got a three-rung promotion and No. 9 SMU jumped four places for its first top-10 ranking since 1985. SMU has clinched a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game and will play either at Miami if the Hurricanes win at Syracuse this week or No. 12 Clemson.

Indiana dropped from No. 5 to No. 10 following its first loss, 38-15 loss at Ohio State. The Buckeyes would play Oregon in the Big Ten championship game if they beat Michigan for the first time in four years this Saturday.

The Southeastern Conference’s hopes for landing four spots in the College Football Playoff took a hit with two of their teams losing as double-digit favorites. Texas, Georgia and Tennessee are the only SEC teams with fewer than three losses after Alabama lost 24-3 at Oklahoma and Mississippi lost 24-17 at Florida.

Alabama and Ole Miss each dropped six spots in the AP poll, the Crimson Tide to No. 13 and the Rebels to No. 15.

Texas A&M was the third SEC team to lose, 43-41 at Auburn in four overtimes. The Aggies tumbled five places to No. 20 but will play Georgia in the SEC championship game if they knock off Texas this week.

Losses by BYU and Colorado created a four-way tie for first in the Big 12.

No. 14 Arizona State, picked to finish last in the conference, handed BYU its second straight loss and is the highest-ranked Big 12 team. No. 17. Iowa State earned a five-rung promotion with its win at Utah. BYU is No. 19 and Colorado, which lost to Kansas, is No. 23.

If the four teams each finish 7-2 in conference play, it’s Iowa State vs. Arizona State in the Big 12 championship game.

No. 11 Boise State is first among the four ranked Group of Five teams. The Broncos got a one-spot bump despite struggling to beat a two-win Wyoming team. Tulane is No. 18, UNLV is No. 21 and Army is No. 25.

POLL POINTS

Oregon, which was idle, was the consensus No. 1 team for the fourth straight week. The Ducks will be unbeaten in the regular season for the first time since 2010 if they beat Washington at home Saturday.

Boise State’s ranking is its highest since it was No. 8 in the final poll of the 2011 season. Arizona State’s ranking is its highest since it was No. 12 in the final poll of the 2014 season.

Indiana-Ohio State was the final top-five matchup of the regular season. The five were the most in a regular season since 1996. There also were five in 1936 and 1943.

WHO’S IN; WHO’S OUT

No. 24 Missouri, a 39-20 winner at Mississippi State, returned to the Top 25 after a one-week absence.

Washington State‘s four-week run in the rankings ended with its second straight loss, 41-38 at Oregon State.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC: 8 (Nos. 3, 6, 7, 13, 15, 16, 20, 24).

Big Ten: 5 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 10, 22).

Big 12: 4 (Nos. 14, 17, 19, 23).

ACC: 3 (Nos. 8, 9, 12).

AAC: 2 (Nos. 18, 25).

Mountain West: 2 (Nos. 11, 21).

Independent: 1 (No. 5).

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 16 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson: It’s a Top 25 matchup for the first time since 2013. Clemson’s 16-7 victory in Columbia last year was the fourth of five straight wins to end the Tigers’ season.

No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M: Stakes are high for the first meeting of longtime rivals since both were in the Big 12 in 2011. Winner goes to the SEC title game.

Continue Reading

UK

Storm Bert: Father rescues son from sinking car as floods wreak havoc

Published

on

By

Storm Bert: Father rescues son from sinking car as floods wreak havoc

Tragedy almost struck a family in West Yorkshire after a father had to suddenly rescue his 11-month-old son from their flooded car.

Andre Randles, 22, was driving with baby Luca from Hebden Bridge to his father’s home in Todmorden to watch a football match on Saturday afternoon.

He was diverted away from his main route when he hit a dip and went “straight into a puddle of water”.

Speaking to Sky’s Shingi Mararike, Mr Randles said he thought it was a shallow puddle that he could drive through but soon his car began to float.

Storm Bert live: Follow latest updates

Paige and Andre
Image:
Andre Randles’ partner Paige Newsome said the incident was ‘really scary’

He called emergency services but soon “water started seeping in”.

“I thought I’m going to have to get out, I’m going to have to smash a window,” Mr Randles said.

More on Weather

He wound down his and his son’s windows, and climbed out before rescuing his son.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Devastating’ flooding in Wales

“The water was chest high, I held him up as high as I could to keep him out of the water.”

“It wasn’t raining so heavily, I’ve driven in much worse rain,” he added.

Mr Randles, a self-employed roofer who relies on the car for work, said he remained calm during the ordeal and was helped by the fact that Luca was asleep during the rescue.

Mr Randles’ partner Paige Newsome – who was not in the car at the time – said the incident was “really scary”.

“To think I could have actually lost them both – I don’t know how I would’ve lived,” she said.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Resident feels ‘abandoned’ in floods

Check the weather forecast in your area

The road has been flooding for at least two decades, the couple said.

“What is it going to take for the council to sort it out? Does a fatal incident have to happen? It’s been going on for years,” Ms Newsome said.

The couple are worried about affording another car as well as Christmas celebrations.

But Mr Randles said: “I’m grateful that we got out safely and that we can spend his first birthday and Christmas as a family.”

Storm Bert has brought more than 80% of November’s average monthly rainfall in less than 48 hours to some parts, the Met Office said.

Around 300 flood warnings and alerts are in place in England, with another 100 in Wales and nine in Scotland, as heavy rain and thawing snow bring more disruption across the UK.

A major incident was declared by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council in South Wales after homes and cars were submerged in water.

‘It is devastating’

Gareth Davies, who owns a garage in Pontypridd, a town in Rhondda Cynon Taf, told Sky’s Dan Whitehead that flooding has put his small business “back to square one”.

As the River Taff burst its banks, the majority of the vehicles in Mr Davis’s garage were so damaged he says they will have to be written off.

Garage in wales destroyed by Storm Bert
Image:
Mr Davies speaking to Sky’s Dan Whitehead in his flooded garage

Garage in wales destroyed by Storm Bert

“I am gutted,” he said, standing in his flooded garage, most of which is also covered in oil after a drum tipped over.

“How long is it going to take to sort out? I am going to lose money either way. I can’t work on people’s cars when I am trying to sort all of this out.

“It is devastating.”

Mr Davies said he has never had an issue with water coming into his garage until now.

Garage in wales destroyed by Storm Bert

Pointing to one car that had been hoisted into the air before water reached it, he said: “Lucky enough, I did come in this morning just to get that car up in the air.

“I don’t know what to say, I have been working flat out for two years to build this up and something like this happens, and it just squashes it all.

“This has put me back to square one.”

At least two to three hundred properties in South Wales have been affected by flooding, Councillor Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Borough Council, said on Sunday.

He said the affected buildings are a mixture of residential and commercial properties, after the weather turned out to be worse than what was forecast.

Continue Reading

Trending