Status: 04/18/2023 5:00 a.m
The Schleswig-Holstein Association of Pharmacists and paediatricians warn that the supply shortages for pediatric medicines are alarmingly high. When it comes to antibiotic juices in particular, parents are often left with a prescription without the right drug being available.
In the Hirsch pharmacy in Friedrichsort in Kiel, pharmacist Hannes Max Schaefer opens the drawer with the “Amoxi” label. Normally, the packages with the antibiotic juice for children are stored here – now the drawer is empty. For days now. In an interview, the pharmacist expresses his displeasure: “More and more frequently we have to send parents away with a prescription because we no longer have the medicine prescribed by the paediatricians.” In the last few weeks, the situation with the antibiotic juices has worsened. Last winter it was the fever juices for children that were in short supply. In general, the situation is getting worse and worse.
Complex causes
Pharmacist Hannes Max Schaefer is annoyed that he often cannot hand out the prescribed antibiotics to parents.
The bottlenecks are apparently caused by a conglomeration of various causes, such as the Ukraine war with supply bottlenecks for medicines, but also their packaging. But the pricing policy of the health insurance companies also plays a role. The managing director of the Schleswig-Holstein Association of Pharmacists, Georg Zwenke, criticizes the cost-cutting measures in politics, which he says result in the fact that there are now only a few manufacturers of active ingredients in Germany: “Since the health care reform of 2003, things have been going downhill continuously. The discount agreements with the pharmaceutical companies have made Germany a low-price country for medicines.” Manufacturers have neither incentives to produce here nor motivation to deliver to Germany. In the Netherlands or Switzerland, for example, they get much more money for their medicines, according to Zwenke.
VIDEO: What to do if no antibiotic juice is available? (3 mins)
When do children really need antibiotics?
The lack of antibiotic juices is of course particularly problematic for children, who are dependent on juices because of the dosage and administration, says Jakob Maske from the Association of Pediatricians and Adolescents. With this in mind, parents of sick children have legitimate concerns about what will happen if their child does not get the antibiotics they need. Antibiotics are absolutely necessary for bacterial infections such as:
- pneumonia
- meningitis
- Urinary tract infections
- Infections with group A streptococci such as scarlet fever (severe course, high fever child)
Left untreated, many of the bacterial infections can have potential complications. However, not all infections require antibiotic treatment. The increasing spread of antibiotic resistance requires a more cautious and targeted use of antibiotics.
What to do if no antibiotic juice is available?
dr medical Alexander Baumgarten-Walczak is a specialist in paediatrics and youth medicine in Preetz (Ploen district). Every day he has to deal with the situation of having to write prescriptions for which there are no suitable medicines in the pharmacy. He says that in most cases he discusses with the parents whether they can wait another 24 hours to see if the symptoms subside or whether they can only work symptomatically for the time being, for example by giving the child painkillers. “In addition, there is the possibility that if, for example, the active ingredient amoxicillin is only available in tablet form, I still ask the pharmacist to hand it out,” he says. “We explain to the parents beforehand that they should then crush the tablets in a mortar and mix them with apple sauce, for example,” says Baumgarten-Walczak.
Parents have to be patient
Federal policy is currently in the process of creating incentives that to relocate more drug production to Europe. Pharmaceutical companies should get stronger financial incentives to sell their goods to Germany. In any case, pharmacist Hannes Max Schaefer hopes in his pharmacy in Friedrichsort that the situation will improve quickly and that his shelves will be filled again. The parents of sick children can only be prepared to be forced to wait patiently until the right antibiotic is available – or to rely on unconventional solutions, such as the antibiotic-applesauce mush, as described by pediatrician Baumgarten-Walczak .
In the case of severe courses, the recommendation to go to the children’s clinic still applies. According to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM)Clinic pharmacies have not been affected by an undersupply so far. This means that if the child is admitted to hospital, antibiotics can be administered intravenously via an access point.
VIDEO: Pharmacists’ Association warns of a major shortage of children’s medicines (4 min)
Further information
