US Hospitals May Shorten Critical Equipment Shortages

Soon, US hospitals will have to experience a shortage of drugs and instruments for sterilization. This is due to the closure of factories that manufacture these drugs. Writes about this Fox Business.

Фото: Depositphotos

This was announced in a statement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It says that most of all there will be a lack of materials used in heart surgery, as well as when replacing the knee joint, cesarean sections and other procedures.

This warning comes from the recent closures of sterilization plants. materials. This happened due to the fact that they used ethylene oxide in their production - gas, which is very important during sterilization, but is very dangerous for health and the environment.

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“The consequences of closing these and possibly more other facilities will be difficult to avoid,” said FDA spokesman Ned Sharpless, adding that shortages “could jeopardize patient care.”

The FDA urged hospitals to take an inventory of their stocks and alert authorities if they are facing an acute shortage of drugs. The FDA said they would help find alternative sterilization options for facilities that face this problem.

Sterilization is a daily process in hospitals and many other medical institutions. It is used to remove bacteria from medical instruments, catheters, surgical kits and other reusable instruments. Hospitals use a variety of disinfection methods, including heat, steam, and radiation sterilization. But ethylene oxide is the only method of disinfecting many devices made of plastic, metal or glass. About half of all medical devices in the United States are sterilized using ethylene oxide.

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According to the National Institute of Health, exposure to hazardous levels of this gas can cause cancer, including leukemia and lymphoma. Plants that emit waste from this gas are subject to safety standards in accordance with state and federal environmental laws.

In 2019, Illinois authorities shut down a large plant owned by Sterigenics when they discovered high levels of ethylene oxide in the air. In October, the company announced that the plant would not reopen.

Another Sterigenics plant has been shut down in Georgia for maintenance since August after authorities discovered potentially hazardous emissions at a Atlanta plant. The company is now working to reduce plant emissions.

In November, the FDA will hold a two-day meeting to discuss new sterilization methods for medical instruments.

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