Action guidance for addressing pollution from inhalational anaesthetics

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Healthcare Sustainability
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Climate change poses an existential threat, necessitating urgent action from all sectors, including healthcare.
• Healthcare contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, with inhalational anesthetics (IA) being a significant source.
• Translating knowledge on IA pollution into practical, actionable steps for the healthcare community remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide evidence-based, practical guidance for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from inhalational anesthetics.
• To outline strategies for the global healthcare community to reduce the climate impact of anesthesia.
• To support the transition towards environmentally sustainable anesthesia practices.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing knowledge on IA pollution and its environmental impact.
• Development of practical, evidence-based recommendations for pollution mitigation.
• Leveraging a digital platform (CODA) to engage the global healthcare community and share resources.

Main Results:

• Identified key actions to reduce IA pollution: removing desflurane, decommissioning nitrous oxide piping, avoiding nitrous oxide, minimizing fresh gas flows, and prioritizing alternative anesthesia techniques.
• Provided guidance on educating staff, implementing, measuring, and reviewing mitigation efforts.
• Established a framework for sharing successes to accelerate global action.

Conclusions:

• Reducing the climate impact of inhalational anesthetics is an achievable and meaningful intervention for the healthcare sector.
• Implementing the provided guidance can significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions from anesthesia without compromising patient safety.
• Collective action and knowledge sharing are crucial for achieving environmentally sustainable anesthesia globally.