Paramedics sound alarm on drug shortage
Service short of critical meds, national shortages hurting treatment capabilities
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By Scott Gordon
NBC 5 Dallas
DALLAS — Paramedics are quickly running out of popular drugs used to treat some of the most common injuries, the Fort Worth ambulance service Medstar warned on Monday. “I have never seen anything like this,” said Medstar medical director Dr. Jeff Beeson. “I would call it a crisis. It started with a few medications and now it’s hundreds of medications.”
The medicines are in short supply nationwide because drug companies are no longer selling them, he said. The list includes many of the drugs doctors and paramedics use every day. Medstar now has only about a two-day supply of Midazolam — or Versed — a sedative used to treat seizures, and a two-week supply of Morphine and Fentanyl, which are used to treat pain, Beeson said.
Other drugs in short supply include the allergy medicines Benadryl and Epinephrine; Zofran, which controls nausea and vomiting; Valium, used to treat acute seizures; and Mannitol, which helps control pressure in head-injury victims.
Full Story: Paramedics Sound Alarm on Drug Shortage
