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ANESTHESIA ALERT
Jeffrey S. Jacobs, MD
Q&A on Anesthesia Drug Shortages
Have you had to rely on unfamiliar drugs to sedate patients?
Have anesthesia drug shortages forced your providers to use
alternative drugs? If so, it's quite possible that patients have stayed under longer or experienced more nausea and vomiting, both of which can delay discharge. In extreme cases, substitute drugs can result in airway emergencies, unstable blood flow or even death.
As chairman of the Committee on Ethics for the American Society of
Anesthesiologists, here are my answers to some of the more common
questions you might have about drug shortages.
Should I proceed with an elective
procedure if a drug shortage might
negatively impact the patient's outcome?
Q.
You should work in concert with the
surgeon when making this decision, taking
into account both the procedure and the patient's
overall health. One of your duties is to protect patients
by exercising sound medical judgment. To use an
extreme example, if a facility ran out of oxygen, there'd
be no question that business as usual would stop until
the supply was restored. Some drug shortages can be
eased with alternatives, but some drugs don't have suitable substitutes. In short, you should consider postponing elective procedures when the risks outweigh
the benefits.
A.
If there are drug shortages in my OR, should I let the
patient know?
Q.
