Iodinated contrast use before, during and after COVID: Trends predict significant growth in demand

During the height of the iodinated contrast shortage, experts offered numerous mitigation strategies while also questioning whether the imaging field had become over-reliant on its use. As the issue has eased, focus has shifted to the future use of the medical imaging agent. 

“The current iodinated contrast agent shortage in the United States has canceled, delayed, and modified many CT exams—highlighting CT's necessity for efficient and timely patient care. Although the current shortage is easing, there was little preparation which created surprise at the vulnerability of the iodinated contrast supply and point-of-care responsibilities,” noted the author of a new paper published in Clinical Imaging, James Goldfarb of St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center in New York. 

Goldfarb conducted an analysis of contrast-enhanced CT imaging in the United States before, during and after the onset of COVID using publicly available data on Medicare Part B fee-for-service physician payments dating back to 2013.  

The data revealed that scans utilizing contrast accounted for around 36% of CT scans in 2013. By 2019, the total number of CT scans completed among the Medicare population had risen by 31.4%, with contrast-enhanced studies accounting for 37.5%. In 2020, during the height of COVID, a nearly 9% drop in CT use was observed, 38.5% of which utilized iodinated contrast.