This article was first published in the Winter 2021 issue of Critical Connections.
 
Drug shortages have become pervasive. The ways in which hospitals and hospital systems manage ongoing shortages vary widely across the United States and the world. Unfortunately, these shortages have affected the most vulnerable patients in the intensive care unit, an effect that is exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A study found that, from 2001 to 2016, of almost 2000 reported drug shortages, 51% were drugs used in critical care.¹ As critical care professionals, we are forced to pivot frequently to adapt to available medications while minimizing the impact to patient care.
 
Critical Connections, the critical care industry's only newsmagazine, provides information on cutting-edge topics in critical care useful to the entire multiprofessional team.Alok Gupta, MD
Bartholomew J. Tortella, MTS, MD, MBA, FACS, FCCM
Ravi S. Tripathi, MD, MBA