Why does sustainability in anesthesia matter?

Let's talk about carbon emissions!

    Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached never-before-recorded levels. All of humanity has a role to play, and each of us must do our part to reduce emissions. 

All volatile anesthetics are greenhouse gases with far more global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Our choices at work can result in far more carbon emissions than you might realize! Compare the environmental impact of the different anesthesia gases below (1).

Want to reduce your carbon emissions? Priority #1: Stop using desflurane! Each bottle of desflurane contains 893kg eCO2 (2)! Here's an example from Children's Hospital Colorado (3):

Imagine the impact your practice could have! Want to learn more? Email SPA.SIG.Sustainability@Gmail.com to join our email list and follow this blog for more posts to come!

References:

1) Sherman J, Feldman J, Barry JM. Reducing Anesthetic Waste and Pollution. Anesthesiology News 2017. http://www.anesthesiologynews.com/Article/PrintArticle?articleID=40910

2) Self J. Calculating the carbon dioxide equivalent produced by vaporising a bottle of desflurane. Anaesthesia 2019, 74, 1473–1483

3) unpublished data, personal communication with Diane Gordon MD