Hospitals Ration CT Scans, Awaiting Dye From Shanghai GE Plant

Hospitals around the US are postponing CT scans and rationing care while waiting on shipments of medical dye made in a Shanghai plant that just restarted production amid the city’s lockdown.

Called contrast media or dye, the fluid made by General Electric Co. helps doctors peer inside the bodies of patients having a heart blockage, stroke or dangerous lung clot. It’s also routinely used tens of million of times a year in non-emergency scans, including to help diagnose and track cancers.

GE is one of a handful of major manufacturers of the dyes, and most of its supply for the ...