Thirty seconds after administration of the drug, which works as a muscle relaxant, a thin breathing tube can be inserted down a patient's throat, allowing the anesthesiologist to breathe for the patient. The fast action of the drug prevents patients from aspirating, which can cause dangerous complications including pneumonia. I'm talking death. Anesthesiologists said alternatives to succinylcholine are inferior since they may be slower acting and more expensive. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, pharmacologists have been forced to develop alternatives or repackage drugs to the lowest tolerable dose.
Cost is another consideration.
There are no precise figures on how many hospitals are feeling the pinch with the anesthesia shortage, but doctors said it's been felt across the country. Earlier this month, the fentanyl shortage reached a crisis level in Seattle and New York, but has since eased. In Atlanta, doctors are experiencing overcrowded recovery rooms. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has found succinylcholine to be in short supply, but Northside Hospital in Atlanta has not felt the squeeze. In some cases, hospitals can get the drugs, but they're not able to obtain the sizes and strengths they typically use, which increases the risk of dosing errors.