The Brazilian College of Radiology and Image Diagnosis (CBR), concerned about the situation involving the provision of iodinated and gadolinium-based contrast media, notably the former, listened to companies in the sector and provided the necessary clarifications. The scarcity of the product on the market, as determined, is due to some factors, which coincided in the time of occurrence, listed below:
A- Increased demand, with the number of imaging exams, using contrast media, at levels well above those observed in the pre-pandemic period. This is explained by the pent-up demand during the pandemic and by investments in health, made on an emergency basis during COVID-19 (in this case, acquisition of tomographs);
B- Covid situation in the rest of the world. Although no supplier recognizes that it receives supplies directly from China, they recognize that world trade is highly interconnected and this may have impacted the headquarters, in their countries of origin;
C- There is a shortage of iodine in the world, an essential chemical element in the formulations of contrast media used in tomography;
D- There was a temporary interruption in the supply of contrast media by one of the companies with an important share of this market.
Contributing to this situation, when the lack, even if partial, of iodinated contrast medium was perceived in the market, there was a wave of purchases to build up stock, further compromising the situation.
Of the companies heard by CBR, 75% said they were supplying their customers normally, without any restriction. Only a small part of the companies admitted a supply restriction. However, with a forecast of normalization until the end of May/beginning of June, in view of the efforts and investments made in its production line, aiming at the normalization of inventories as soon as possible.
This being the information we have at the moment, we continue to monitor the situation and will speak up when there is any new fact.