- Home
- Medical news & Guidelines
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology and CTVS
- Critical Care
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Diabetes and Endocrinology
- ENT
- Gastroenterology
- Medicine
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Obstretics-Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics-Neonatology
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Urology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Diet
- Nursing
- Paramedical
- Physiotherapy
- Health news
- AYUSH
- State News
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Chandigarh
- Chattisgarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Daman and Diu
- Delhi
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Ladakh
- Lakshadweep
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Odisha
- Puducherry
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
- Telangana
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttrakhand
- West Bengal
- Medical Education
- Industry
Inhalation anesthesia - Big contributor to environmental contamination
![Inhalation anesthesia - Big contributor to environmental contamination Inhalation anesthesia - Big contributor to environmental contamination](https://medicaldialogues.in/h-upload/2021/06/28/750x450_156529-general-anesthesia.webp)
The healthcare business is a significant polluter, accounting for about 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. All health practitioners have a responsibility to avoid environmental pollution due to their fundamental objective of promoting health and healing. Inhaled anesthetics are a source of greenhouse gases that is specific to clinical settings, making them of special importance.
Anaesthesiology has produced a substantial body of work analyzing the emissions of these gases and creating mitigation strategies that do not compromise patient care or safety. Recent publications attempted to address the problem.
All inhaled anesthetics are powerful greenhouse gases with heat-trapping qualities (potential for global warming) hundreds to thousands of times larger than carbon dioxide.
Additionally, several inhaled anesthetics, including nitrous oxide (N2O), contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer. During clinical usage, the majority of inhaled anesthetics are exhaled via gas scavenging (vacuum) devices to prevent against occupational exposure and are eventually all discharged into the external environment uncontrolled.
Approaches to cut down on inhaled anesthetic pollution (adapted from Devlin-Hegedus et al)
Clinical practice
When it is clinically safe to do so, avoid inhaled anesthetics and substitute intravenous, regional, or neuraxial anesthesia.
Avoid desflurane and N2O if you are administering inhaled anesthetics.
Reduce rates of fresh gas supply, especially during inductions.
Buildings
Decommission existing N2O central pipe systems and refrain from constructing new ones, and replace them with portable tanks that are sealed between usage.
Consider technology for treating and reusing anesthesia gases only after all other measures for waste avoidance have been perfected.
Industry regulations and standards
Avoid N2O as a cryosurgery refrigerant.
Implement national reporting and reduction of inhaled anesthetic greenhouse gas and ozone depleting emissions in accordance with the Montreal protocol, including the Kigali amendment on hydrofluorocarbons8, and the Paris Agreement.
A regulatory framework requiring standardized, obligatory reporting and accountability is essential for achieving the broad participation necessary to minimize the considerable greenhouse gas emissions of the healthcare industry.
References –
Sherman J D, Chesebro B B. Inhaled anaesthesia and analgesia contribute to climate change BMJ 2022; 377 :o1301 doi:10.1136/bmj.o1301
Devlin-Hegedus JH, McGain F, Sherman JD. Action guidance for addressing inhaled anaesthetic pollution. Anaesthesia
Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751