Drug Shortages: Effect on Parenteral Nutrition Therapy

Drug shortages continue to be a threat to the health and welfare of numerous patients in the United States. For patients who depend on parenteral nutrition (PN) for survival, these shortages pose an even greater threat. Almost 75% of active drug shortages are sterile injectables, which includes PN components. Providing PN therapy is particularly challenging for clinicians because this is a complex medication and may contain 40 or more individual ingredients, of which multiple components may simultaneously be in limited supply. The availability of PN components must be considered during every step of the PN use process from ordering the PN prescription to administering this therapy to a patient. Alterations to a standardized process can lead to medication errors that can adversely affect patient outcomes and consume healthcare resources.