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StudyOphthalmology · 2026

Ophthalmic Drug Shortages in the United States: Survey of the University of Utah Drug Information Service Drug Shortage Database.

Robert T Eakins, Lieu Nguyen Lowrie, Brian C Stagg … Ian Pitha

OphthalmologyStudy

Ophthalmic drug shortages last nearly 30 days longer than other drug shortages.

Ophthalmic Drug Shortages in the United States: Survey of the University of Utah Drug Information Service Drug Shortage Database.

Robert T Eakins et al. · Ophthalmology · 2026

Purpose

To survey ophthalmic drug shortages in the United States from 2001 through 2024.

Methods

Retrospective database review.

n = 3086 drug shortage reports

Results

eye medicine shortages lasted longer than other drug shortages by this many days

n = 3086 drug shortage reports

More results

On average, ophthalmic medications accounted for 15% of active shortages at any given time.

Systemic and locally delivered medications were represented equally; most shortages were of anti-infective medications (35%) and steroids (26%).

More results

The leading causes of ophthalmic medication shortages were unknown (63%), manufacturing problems (20%), and supply and demand mismatch (10%).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Ophthalmic drug shortages constitute a significant portion of total drug shortages, the median shortage length is greater than that for all medications, and shortage duration is influenced by patent status.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

Post

Ophthalmic Drug Shortages in the United States: Survey of the University of Utah Drug Information Service Drug Shortage Database.

Ophthalmic drug shortages last nearly 30 days longer than other drug shortages.

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