Thank you for your help conserving during our ongoing IV fluid shortage!

We have started to receive more reliable shipments as the Baxter plant has resumed some production, and additional sources are being mobilized. Allocations are still less than usual and are being front loaded for the month of November; no additional fluid shipments are projected from Nov. 19 until early December. While we catch up with surgical procedures, it remains important to continue other fluid conservation efforts. See below links for additional information: 

• For latest updates pertinent to our area: South Puget Sound IV Fluid SharePoint (only available to internal users): South Puget Sound — Baxter IV, irrigation and dialysis shortage updates
• Updates from SPS Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee: 
  • Shorten 5-day Remdesivir to 3-day course if patient is hemodynamically stable, afebrile x 24hrs and off oxygen (remdesivir - IV shortage 2024.docx) or patient is ready for discharge
  • Timely discontinuation of IV Vancomycin when blood culture PCR identifies ¼ CoNS as it is highly likely to be a contaminant (see Blood Culture PCR Education 2023).
• Conservation Strategies: (Baxter Solution Shortage - Pharmacy Recommendations)

Practice/Product updates  

• Please continue to check ​​this link​​ for updated practice alerts. 
• Please see ​​this link​​ for an updated product alert on nuances in packaging for IV fluids. Some IV fluids may be packaged in bags that do not contain DEHP. They require more care when spiking to prevent puncturing the bag.  

Other 

• Please follow the Baxter news blog for additional information on Baxter’s operations.  

Thank you for your work on Length of Stay (LOS).

September turned out to not be as low as hoped, but September was still the lowest month year to date for ALOS (6.26 days at St. Peter and 4.46 days for Providence Centralia). As expected, October is projected to be higher (with fewer surgical admissions due to the IV fluid shortage), but not as high as expected (6.32 at St. Peter and lower than September for Centralia at 4.23 month-to-date). November is trending favorably only 11 days into the month. With your continued attention, we can stay on track to close 2024 with significant improvement in LOS.