Environmental sustainability in the operating room: A worldwide survey among anaesthesiologists.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The healthcare industry carbon footprint is 5.2% of total CO₂ equivalent emissions worldwide. The operating rooms are the most resource demanding areas in hospital care and the higher energy demands, lack of effective waste management, and inhaled anaesthetic use, lead to a high carbon footprint. There is wide variation in the carbon footprint of inhaled gases, with desflurane ranking 40 times higher than sevoflurane. Other inhaled agents, including N₂O and isoflurane, have additional ozone-depleting properties.

Objective

To describe what factors influence the implementation of sustainable anaesthetic strategies.

Design

An international survey.

Setting

Anaesthesia clinicians worldwide between April 2021 and April 2022.

Partic

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Pizarro P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11783648 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature