An albuterol inhaler or nebulizer is commonly used to treat breathing problems such as asthma. A shortage of the drug is expected to get worse.An ongoing shortage of a medicine commonly used to treat people with breathing problems is expected to get worse after a major supplier to US hospitals shut down last week,Liquid albuterol has been in short supply since last summer, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
With the Akorn shutdown, Gurz said products from the one remaining major domestic source of liquid albuterol, Nephron Pharmacuticals, have been on back order. Nephron just started shipping albuterol last Friday, Gurz said, but to get back on track, "it's going to be an uphill climb."Hospitals around the country said they're watching the supply chain -- and their current stock -- closely.
It's "time-consuming and labor-intensive as it takes opening 40 containers to equal 20 mL ," said hospital spokesperson Julianne Bardele in an email. "When you have supply chains that are just-in-time, it can create some issues with when something goes off," Grimm added. "There's the short-term crisis we all have to get through and then there's a longer term. We need to think about these things a little more strategically, especially with our kids."
The Children's Hospital Association stepped in to help when it heard from members having difficulty finding enough supply. The association worked with STAQ Pharma, a facility that provides compounded pediatric medication, to start production on batches of albuterol for children's hospitals in the sizes they needed.
This is bidens world ,no plan everything in chaos!