Therapeutic Alternatives and Strategies for Drug Conservation in the ICU During Times of Drug Shortage

link.springer.com July 5, 2020

therapeutic-alternatives-and-strategies-for-drug-conservation-in-the-intensive-care-unit-during-times-of-drug-shortage

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic, urgent strategies to alleviate shortages are required. Evaluation of the feasibility, practicality, and value of drug conservation strategies and therapeutic alternatives requires a collaborative approach at the provincial level.

The Ontario COVID-19 ICU Drug Task Force was directed to create recommendations suggesting drug conservation strategies and therapeutic alternatives for essential drugs at risk of shortage in the intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations were rapidly developed using a modified Delphi method and evaluated on their ease of implementation, feasibility, and supportive evidence.

This article describes the recommendations for drug conservation strategies and therapeutic alternatives for drugs at risk of shortage that are commonly used in the care of critically ill patients.

Recommendations are identified as preferred and secondary ones that might be less desirable.

Although the impetus for generating this document was the COVID-19 pandemic, recommendations should also be applicable for mitigating drug shortages outside of a pandemic.