Prognosis
Medical Saline Shortage Hits U.S. Hospitals Reeling From Omicron
- Illness, quarantines led to shortfall of basic medical tool
- Ukraine conflict seen prolonging lack of needed materials
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A staple of standard medical care is in short supply in the U.S. due to the most recent wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine could make matters worse.
Saline solution is used in hospitals for everything from reconstituting drugs to flushing intravenous lines to rehydrating patients. It is a routine but critically important part of taking care of cancer patients, kids suffering from the flu, or people who wind up in the hospital because of an accident. Even a small hospital can use saline thousands of times a day.