Survey of contrast media use in southeastern U.S. hospitals.

This article reports the results of a survey of contrast media usage in hospitals in five southeastern states. Forty-three percent of hospitals surveyed reported using nonionic contrast media 100% of the time, while 71% used nonionic contrast more than 75% of the time. Hospitals with fewer than 399 beds showed an increase in universal nonionic contrast usage compared to hospitals with more than 400 beds. Survey results also showed that radiographers administer contrast media in 90% of hospitals. On average, radiographers administered contrast twice as often as radiologists. Hospitals favored selective protocols as the primary method to reduce nonionic contrast media usage. The low rate of reactions for nonionic contrast was the primary reason hospitals chose to use nonionic contrast.