Fluid Crisis Management: Intravenous Fluid Conservation Strategies and Outcomes After a Natural Disaster

After significant damage to an intravenous fluid manufacturing plant during Hurricane Helene, fluid conservation was necessary, and many healthcare institutions delayed elective procedures to safeguard fluids. We present a perioperative intravenous fluid conservation strategy initiated at one tertiary care institution in response, and specifically reviewed 5 different perioperative sites with predominantly outpatient cases. Perioperative fluid conservation led to an overall 68% reduction in intravenous fluid utilization in one month. Compared with the 3 prior months, rates of intraoperative hemodynamic instability, postoperative nausea and vomiting, and recovery times were similar.