It has been brought to our attention that Piramal, one of the largest producers of halothane, has ceased production of the gas.
We have been unable to ascertain whether there are any producers for the global or regional markets around the world. We therefore write to urge you to inform any hospitals (or laboratories) that use and/or are dependent on halothane that they should urgently begin making alternate plans.
Alternate options include:
- Switch to isoflurane. However, this is not ideal for pediatric induction.
- Switch to sevoflurane.
- TIVA with propofol with/without ketamine.
There may be many locally appropriate permutations of the above medications.
WFSA has informed the World Health Organization of this issue, but the decision to cease production is made by private companies from an economic perspective.
The WFSA Halothane Technical Working Group and our Safety & Quality of Practice Committee are working on a guidance document for replacing halothane in practice.
