Should we give up anesthesia for the sake of curbing climate change? Experts recommend that doctors reduce the use of such procedures due to their negative environmental impact.
Dr. Mohamed Fayed, chief anesthesiologist at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, came up with the idea last Friday at the of the American Society of Anesthesiologists at its annual conference in Orlando.
“Global warming has an ever-increasing impact on our daily lives, which is why it is vital to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”explained the specialist.
Fayed further added that “it doesn’t matter how small the impact is, over time they add up. As anesthesiologists, we can contribute to the success of the case. To do this, we need to reduce the use of anesthetic gas – certainly not at the expense of patient care.”
A study showed that inhaled anesthetics are responsible for 0.1% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, the anesthesia used for a 1-hour operation has the effect of driving 755 km, according to a 2010 study.
Anesthesia can only be performed by competent professionals, as too high a dose can lead to brain damage or coma, or even death. On the other hand, if too little is used, there is a risk that the patient will wake up during the procedure, which can lead to serious pain and psychological trauma.
In order to prove their hypothesis, Henry Ford Health researchers reduced the gas flow rate to 3 liters per minute during the operations – when it was feasible. The initiative only applied to inhaled anesthetics and produced a significant drop in the application of the drugs – in many cases the doses were halved.
The available data was collected from 13,000 patients who underwent anesthesia between March and July 2021. Prior to the motion, the 3 L/min stipulation was enforced in 65% of cases, but since then this has increased to 93%. Their new goal is to use even less anesthetic and reach the 2 L/min limit.
“The control of climate change also depends on medical science, so it is essential that various measures are introduced. Avoiding anesthetic gas, in addition to conscious waste management and energy use, greatly contributes to reducing the greenhouse effect.”