Lack of serum in the country can harm hemodialysis treatments

In the midst of a shortage of medicines and health supplies, more than half of the country’s health equipment is having difficulty buying even saline solution. Entities in the sector warn that the crisis may harm patients undergoing hemodialysis.

A survey carried out by CNSaúde (National Confederation of Health) identified that 53% of health equipment has a stock of serum below 25%. Another 37% have stock below 50%.

The survey also shows that 40% of the units have only found the product on the market with prices above 100% of the usual.

The survey was answered by 106 establishments, such as hospitals and specialized clinics, in the Federal District and 13 states —Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Sergipe and São Paulo.

One of the treatments that can be most affected is hemodialysis, since the machines used need to be cleaned with saline between one patient and another.

“There is no explanation for the lack of such a basic and important input for health care. The Brazilian market is completely deregulated and dialysis centers are very concerned about the repercussions of this problem”, says Yussif Ali Mere Junior, president ABCDT (Brazilian Association of Dialysis and Transplant Centers).

According to him, if the lack of input remains, the centers will have to resort to other products to clean hemodialysis machines. The alternatives, however, make treatment even more expensive.

For months the country has been facing a shortage of a series of medicines. In April, and then again in June, medical entities alerted the Ministry of Health about the low stock in hospitals.

The entities demanded the adoption of “coordinated actions in order to contribute to the regularity of the commercialization of medicines, in view of all the implications and clinical damages that the stock out can cause”.

Among them were Amib (Association of Brazilian Intensive Medicine), SBA (Brazilian Society of Anesthesiology) and SBRAFH (Brazilian Society of Hospital Pharmacy and Health Services).

According to the CNSaúde survey, in addition to serum, health equipment reports a lack of other basic supplies, such as injectable dipyrone (with low stock in 62.9% of the units), atropine (50.5%) and even contrast used in exams. radiological (49.5%).

The entities demand actions from the Ministry of Health to solve the situation that has dragged on for months. “We official the ministry and Anvisa and we did not get an answer about what they are doing to avoid shortages”, says Breno Monteiro, president of CNSaúde.

Another survey, carried out by Conasems (National Council of Municipal Health Departments), also identified the lack of antibiotics, such as amoxicillin and azithromycin, in health units in 284 municipalities in the country.

In a note, the Ministry of Health says that the shortage of medical supplies is the result of “several global causes that go beyond” its competence. To the entities, the ministry has said that the problem is a consequence of the war in Ukraine, the closing of ports in China as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise in the dollar.

The entities emphasize, however, that saline, for example, is produced in Brazil and does not depend on the importation of inputs for its manufacture.

The ministry also said that, in early June, it published an ordinance that releases criteria for establishing or adjusting prices for drugs at risk of shortages in the market.

“The folder continues to work together with Anvisa, states and municipalities and representatives of the pharmaceutical industries to articulate actions to face the shortage of hospital supplies in the country”, says a note from the folder.