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Worldwide Shortage of Barium
New submitter redhat_redneck writes "The U.S. and Canada has been experiencing a shortage of barium sulfate, which is used as contrast for upper and lower GI studies. It has reached the point where doctors are being asked not to order these exams except in emergencies, and some exams are being cancelled. Here's the letter that's been put out by the manufacturer. The longer this drags on, the more serious this issue becomes, eventually impacting patients and healthcare providers in both cost and quality of care. Some sources point to a dramatic drop in Chinese production. In their defense, it seems China is changing safety regulations. Medical use only make a fraction of the uses of barium sulfate, but it's going to be disproportionately affected by this shortage. We can't go back to our old contrast Thorotrast; it causes cancer. Does anyone know of alternatives to barium?"
1. Use Thorotrast.
2. People get cancer and die.
3. Then you Barium...
GI stands for Gastro-Intestinal, as in the eponymous tract. You are not as much of a smartass as you think you are.
Make "Rent of Barium" part of the bill - if you return the Barium, you get your deposit back.
Doesn't anyone recycle this crap?
It's basically one continuous external surface inside the body.
You make us sound like living, breathing Klein Bottles...
Not a Klein bottle... We're basically just a living, breathing donut.
E pluribus unum
The word is torus. We are basically homeomorphic to a torus. So are sheep -- apply a mapping such that the interior and exterior of the torus are exchanged, and the result is called a haggis.
It's more invasive, more expensive, and requires general anesthetic.
No. It can and usually is done under twilight sedation.
I can see that would work; watching the Twilight movies would put anyone to sleep.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
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