Shotage of injectable bumetanide

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists reports a shortage of injectable bumetanide. When a person swells up with a lot of extra water in their body due to heart failure or liver or kidney disease, bumetanide is an option that can be used to stimulate the kidneys and get rid of some of the water. This is yet another drug shortage caused by the voluntary shutdown of Ben Venue's manufacturing facility, where it was made under contract for Bedford Laboratories. Bumetanide belongs to a drug class called diuretics. When someone is allergic to the widely-used diuretic, furosemide, bumetanide is an important alternative because most people are not allergic to both of them, even though they have some chemical similarities.

Bumetanide is a very strong diuretic and must be carefully used to avoid loss of too much water and too many important minerals along with it.