Hospitals deal with critical medical dye shortage

Hospitals around the country and the globe are dealing with critical shortages of a dye used in common imaging studies like CT scans, as well as procedures for heart attack and stroke. Now some facilities are having to conserve and prioritize use to make sure they have enough for patients who absolutely need it.

Iodinated contrast media is injected into patients and goes into the blood vessels, allowing doctors to get a better look at a patient’s anatomy and organs. “We had to triage and limit the use of contrast dye to only critically ill patients that had to have contrast dye to either establish a diagnosis or to guide a lifesaving or a limb sparing treatment,” says Dr Phil Johnson, the clinical service chief of radiology at the University of Kansas Health System.

The dye shortage is being blamed on a Covid shutdown at a Shanghai production plant where most of this product is made.

Dr Johnson says the shortage is concerning because certain procedures are not possible without this dye. “We can do a CT scan without contrast. It may not be quite as good, but we can still get valuable information. We can do other imaging studies like MRI scans or ultrasound scans. But if somebody has a heart attack or if somebody has a stroke, the only way you can get into the blood vessel with a catheter, into the heart or the brain, is to inject x-ray dye to identify the clot,” he says.

The American Hospital Association recently put out an advisory to members to provide resources on how to conserve supply.

Normal production of the dye is not expected to resume until late June.

Doctors say the goal right now is to maintain the supply for emergency and critical care, which means some elective scans or non-emergency procedures may need to be delayed or rescheduled. CBS News