Thousands of Albertans have imaging procedures delayed as contrast dye shortage continues

A global shortage of contrast dye has resulted in approximately 2,400 Albertans having their imaging procedures cancelled so far and more will get a call with similar news next week.

The dye makes blood vessels and organs more visible and its used in roughly half of the CT scans performed in Alberta. It's also used for some heart procedures and other surgeries.

The shortage was sparked by the shutdown of a GE Healthcare production plant in Shanghai, which was closed due to COVID-19 lockdowns. It's one of Canada's main suppliers of the contrast material.

The company announced earlier this month that the plant is back up and running at 100 per cent capacity, but the impacts continue to be felt in Alberta and elsewhere.

"To date, approximately 2,400 patients have been contacted to have their imaging procedures delayed, and we anticipate another 1,200 procedures will be postponed next week," Alberta Health Services said in a tweet on Friday.

"We will reschedule patients as quickly as possible."

While AHS is expecting shipments in the coming weeks, the situation is not expected to return to normal until September.

"I want to be very cautious," said Dr. Manish Joshi, the Calgary zone medical director of diagnostic imaging with Alberta Health Services and the academic head of radiology at the University of Calgary.

"As a healthcare provider, you feel a little powerless in some ways because you can't get the ... substances that you need."

Joshi is part of a task force, including a range of specialists, meeting weekly to deal with the shortage of contrast dye.

Doctors are preserving the contrast dye for the most urgent cases and the current strategy includes delaying procedures — most of them CT scans — when its safe to do so.

 The decision essentially boils down to how quickly patients need them.

"We're trying to ensure that patients who are waiting for cancer treatments or patients that are waiting for surgery are affected the least," he said.

"[They] are the ones that we are most sensitive to. And so if the shortage goes on those may be affected too. But at this point those are the ones we want to leave untouched if we can."