The Food and Drug Administration has reported a worldwide shortage of comparable materials used for CT scans, MRIs and other medical imaging.
Dozens of other hospitals have also sent out warnings about shortages, warning patients and clients that they are planning to supply current supplies.
“Because of the unprecedented disruption associated with COVID-19 in China, all hospitals in the United States have a shortage of media (sometimes called X-ray dye) which is used to perform CATs or CT scans,” writes St. Lukes University. Health Network on its website.
There are several types of comparisons. Some are absorbed fluids, and some can be injected into a patient’s bloodstream. The comparative material can be made of a variety of compounds or naturally occurring chemical compounds including iodine or barium-sulfate.
These features improve the quality of medical imaging that helps physicians differentiate between normal and abnormal conditions in a patient’s body, which is why deficiency is a major concern.
Comparison materials are mainly produced in Shanghai, China which is currently being shut down in an unprecedented way due to COVID-19.
The closure of COVID-19 in Shanghai, China, has resulted in a worldwide shortage of intravenous comparisons used in imaging processes such as advanced X-rays, CT scans and MRIs. IV comparisons are also used in processes where dyes help showing anatomy; with cardiac catheterization, the difference makes the blood “glow” as it passes through the heart so that the doctor can see the blood flow, “writes the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham.
Some medical institutions report shortages that last more than a month.
A New York hospital team once said GE Healthcare expects an 80% reduction in inventory over the next six to eight weeks.
