Doctors in Japan are worried about the shortage of an anesthetic often used for childbirth and cancer surgery. Some hospitals say supplies of the drug could dry up by December at the earliest.
The drug, a local anesthetic called Ropivacaine Hydrochloride Hydrate, is sold in Japan as Anapeine. Shipments have dwindled to a trickle since August, affecting even the National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo. anaa root hormone
Because of this, the use of the drug is limited for clinical trials and surgery for colorectal cancer.
For other surgeries, the hospital uses alternatives, but this is pushing up demand and causing shortages with that, too.
Hospital staff now try to get every last drop of Anapeine out of the packs it comes in. Before, they would be discarded after a single dose was extracted.
The hospital says its supplies could dry up as early as December, forcing it to consider postponing some surgical procedures.
Hashimoto Hironobu, at the hospital's pharmaceuticals department, says the drug is essential for operations. A lack of it will have an impact on routine medical treatments, he adds.
Anapeine is marketed by Sandoz. An affiliate produces the drug and had planned to move production into Japan from overseas.
But in April, it was revealed that the plan would have to be delayed due to problems with the transfer of technology. Since the contract with the producer overseas had expired, Sandoz was forced to curtail shipments from June.
Sandoz told NHK that it's striving to bring shipments back to normal as soon as possible and apologized to patients and medical staff for causing problems.
Until then, Japan's health ministry and the Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists are urging hospitals and clinics to economize on their use of Anapeine, and consider prioritizing its use for certain patients.
Anapeine is also used for painless childbirth. One maternity clinic in Tokyo assists more than 90 percent of deliveries with the aid of epidurals.
The clinic now predicts how much it needs for each patient to make sure none of the drug goes to waste. It says that if the situation worsens, it may have to limit epidural deliveries.
Doctor Hayashi Satoshi, who heads the clinic, says a growing proportion of deliveries are now done with epidurals. He hopes expectant mothers won't be affected.
The Japan Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology is letting maternity hospitals and clinics know about the countermeasures it is taking. It also seeks to reassure pregnant women.
Anapeine can be conserved by using it in combination with a small amount of another drug, a pain killer, says Terui Katsuo, head of the society.
A generic version of Anapeine has also recently been approved and there is information that it will be sold by another firm, the society says.
propitocaine hydrochloride "Other groups concerned with anesthetics are working together on this problem," Terui says. "Women who are preparing to give birth, please wait without worrying too much."