Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone
Potential health hazards from waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) have been a concern since the introduction of inhalational anesthetics into clinical practice. The potential to exceed recommended exposure levels (RELs) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) exists. The aim of this pilot study was to asse...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Anesthesiology Research and Practice |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/354184 |
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| author | Kenneth N. Hiller Alfonso V. Altamirano Chunyan Cai Stephanie F. Tran George W. Williams |
| author_facet | Kenneth N. Hiller Alfonso V. Altamirano Chunyan Cai Stephanie F. Tran George W. Williams |
| author_sort | Kenneth N. Hiller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Potential health hazards from waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) have been a concern since the introduction of inhalational anesthetics into clinical practice. The potential to exceed recommended exposure levels (RELs) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) exists. The aim of this pilot study was to assess sevoflurane WAG levels while accounting for factors that affect inhalational anesthetic elimination. In this pilot study, 20 adult day surgery patients were enrolled with anesthesia maintained with sevoflurane. Following extubation, exhaled WAG from the patient breathing zone was measured 8 inches from the patient’s mouth in the PACU. Maximum sevoflurane WAG levels in the patient breathing zone exceeded National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) RELs for every 5-minute time interval measured during PACU Phase I. Observed WAGs in our study were explained by inhalational anesthetic pharmacokinetics. Further analysis suggests that the rate of washout of sevoflurane was dependent on the duration of anesthetic exposure. This study demonstrated that clinically relevant inhalational anesthetic concentrations result in sevoflurane WAG levels that exceed current RELs. Evaluating peak and cumulative sevoflurane WAG levels in the breathing zone of PACU Phase I and Phase II providers is warranted to quantify the extent and duration of exposure. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c90772bc24934d3894a82e5eafc1462b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-6962 1687-6970 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Anesthesiology Research and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-c90772bc24934d3894a82e5eafc1462b2025-02-03T01:12:41ZengWileyAnesthesiology Research and Practice1687-69621687-69702015-01-01201510.1155/2015/354184354184Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing ZoneKenneth N. Hiller0Alfonso V. Altamirano1Chunyan Cai2Stephanie F. Tran3George W. Williams4Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 777030, USADepartment of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 777030, USADivision of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 777030, USADepartment of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 777030, USADepartments of Anesthesiology and Neurosurgery, The University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 777030, USAPotential health hazards from waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) have been a concern since the introduction of inhalational anesthetics into clinical practice. The potential to exceed recommended exposure levels (RELs) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) exists. The aim of this pilot study was to assess sevoflurane WAG levels while accounting for factors that affect inhalational anesthetic elimination. In this pilot study, 20 adult day surgery patients were enrolled with anesthesia maintained with sevoflurane. Following extubation, exhaled WAG from the patient breathing zone was measured 8 inches from the patient’s mouth in the PACU. Maximum sevoflurane WAG levels in the patient breathing zone exceeded National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) RELs for every 5-minute time interval measured during PACU Phase I. Observed WAGs in our study were explained by inhalational anesthetic pharmacokinetics. Further analysis suggests that the rate of washout of sevoflurane was dependent on the duration of anesthetic exposure. This study demonstrated that clinically relevant inhalational anesthetic concentrations result in sevoflurane WAG levels that exceed current RELs. Evaluating peak and cumulative sevoflurane WAG levels in the breathing zone of PACU Phase I and Phase II providers is warranted to quantify the extent and duration of exposure.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/354184 |
| spellingShingle | Kenneth N. Hiller Alfonso V. Altamirano Chunyan Cai Stephanie F. Tran George W. Williams Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone Anesthesiology Research and Practice |
| title | Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone |
| title_full | Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone |
| title_short | Evaluation of Waste Anesthetic Gas in the Postanesthesia Care Unit within the Patient Breathing Zone |
| title_sort | evaluation of waste anesthetic gas in the postanesthesia care unit within the patient breathing zone |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/354184 |
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