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We track the impact of the current global shortage of iodinated contrast agents on radiology operations at a major US healthcare system. Using repurposed software infrastructure of a commercial AI-based image analysis vendor (Aidoc Medical, Tel Aviv, Israel), we analyzed daily volumes of radiology service request data for a total of 17,061 Computed Tomography (CT) exams before and during the contrast agent shortage (both comprising 04/01/2022 through 07/01/2022), namely 2,407 CT Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA), 3,811 non-angiography Contrast-Enhanced Thoracic CT (CE-TCT), and, for comparison, 10,843 non-contrast head CT exams. Specifically, we compared two observational periods, namely (i) a pre-shortage control period from 04/14/22 through 05/05/2022, and (ii) a contrast shortage period from 05/21/2022 through 06/11/2022. A percentage change metric of case volumes was calculated, where we report relative changes with regard to a baseline measurement period from 04/01/2022 through 04/14/2022. The two observational periods were compared for statistically significant differences. Case volumes of contrast-enhanced CT scans dropped from baseline during the contrast agent shortage period, namely by 60.66%±23.33% for CE-TCT and 42.88%±20.22% for CTPA, respectively, where statistical differences between observational periods were highly significant (p < 10−4). Our results suggest a significant reduction of contrast-enhanced chest CT exams during the observed global contrast agent shortage, where CTPA exams were slightly less affected than other non-angiography contrast-enhanced chest CT studies. We conclude that data tracking using repurposed AI image analysis service software infrastructure can quantify effects of unexpected healthcare challenges on radiology operations, such as during the observed global contrast agent shortage.
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