Interview with Brian Ghoshhajra, MD, MBA, division chief, cardiovascular imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, and a board member of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT). He explains the impact of the iodine contrast shortage on computed tomography (CT) overall and both noninvasive cardiac CT and interventional cardiology.
His center has not yet had to defer procedures or imaging, but they are in a contrast conservation mode to use less contrast and use alternative imaging modalities when possible, such as MRI, nuclear imaging or ultrasound. Another conservation strategy has been to eliminate any contrast being used in clinical studies where the CT imaging is not critical to patient care. He said the Mass General contingency plan calls for rationing if the level of contrast becomes more critical.
Mass General has pooled all its contrast into a central location and its allocation is set by a meeting of all the stakeholders in the hospital. This includes not only radiologists, but interventional radiology, interventional cardiology, vascular surgery and other users of contrast to guide procedures.
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Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com