A pregnant woman in Gila County, Arizona, did not receive essential penicillin treatment because of a national drug shortage and delays in the ordering process.

亞利桑那州吉拉郡一名孕婦因全國性藥物短缺及訂購流程延遲，未能獲得必要的盤尼西林治療。

The patient was diagnosed with syphilis in late March. She needed a specific medication called Bicillin L-A, which is the only FDA-approved treatment for this condition during pregnancy. This treatment is necessary to prevent serious problems for the baby, such as bone deformities, brain damage, or stillbirth. Although there has been a national shortage since July 2025, the manufacturer, Pfizer, has an emergency request system for high-risk cases of congenital syphilis.

患者於三月下旬被診斷出患有梅毒。她需要一種名為 Bicillin L-A 的特定藥物，這是唯一經 FDA 批准用於孕期治療此病症的藥物。此治療對於防止胎兒出現嚴重問題至關重要，例如骨骼畸形、腦損傷或死產。雖然自 2025 年 7 月起全國出現短缺，但製造商 Pfizer 設有針對先天性梅毒高風險病例的緊急申請系統。

However, the process of getting the medicine was difficult. Gila County health officials sent a request on March 27, and Pfizer confirmed they received it the following Monday. Despite this, the medicine did not arrive by April 7. Later, the National Coalition of STD Directors and Pfizer argued about whether the correct medical forms had been submitted, even though the Arizona Department of Health Services insisted the paperwork was complete. Consequently, the patient gave birth before the medicine could be administered.

然而，獲取藥物的過程十分困難。吉拉郡衛生官員於 3 月 27 日提交申請，Pfizer 於次週一確認收到。儘管如此，藥物直到 4 月 7 日仍未送達。隨後，國家性傳播疾病主管聯盟與 Pfizer 針對是否提交正確醫療表格產生爭議，儘管亞利桑那州衛生服務部堅持文件已齊全。結果，患者在藥物能被施用前就分娩了。

This situation happened after a failed attempt to improve the system. In February, the National Coalition of STD Directors suggested that Pfizer should give some of its medicine reserves to state health departments to create a safety stock. By early June, Pfizer stated that they were still considering the proposal. Because they kept the distribution centralized, the system failed to provide the medicine in time for this patient.

此次情況發生在一次嘗試改善系統失敗之後。二月份，國家性傳播疾病主管聯盟建議 Pfizer 應將部分藥物儲備交給州衛生部門以建立安全庫存。到六月初，Pfizer 表示他們仍在考慮該提案。由於他們維持集中分發模式，導致系統未能及時為該患者提供藥物。

The patient gave birth without receiving the necessary antibiotic, which resulted in the baby having congenital syphilis.

患者在未收到必要抗生素的情況下分娩，導致嬰兒患有先天性梅毒。