Green anaesthesia: a review of sustainable perioperative practices and the potential application in Malaysia

Kwan Tuck Lee, S. Ngoi, I. I. Shariffuddin
{"title":"Green anaesthesia: a review of sustainable perioperative practices and the potential application in Malaysia","authors":"Kwan Tuck Lee, S. Ngoi, I. I. Shariffuddin","doi":"10.35119/myja.v2i2.61","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Global warming and worsening climate change threaten environmental sustainability and exacerbate disease burdens worldwide. Alarmingly, the health care sector emerged as a substantial contributor to this crisis. The operating theatre significantly contributes to hospital waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Anaesthesiologists are morally compelled to combat this crisis, aligning with our oath as physicians of “first, do no harm,” ensuring patient safety extends beyond the operating room by advocating for sustainable practices that safeguard both health and the environment. Understanding the climate change indicators reveals the alarming impact of human actions on escalating greenhouse gas emissions and their dire repercussions, such as global temperature shifts, severe weather events, and heightened natural disasters.\nGreener solutions and adaptive policymaking are essential to address procurement, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste management challenges in health care settings. Anaesthesiologists should collaborate with surgeons and hospital management to navigate patient-specific issues analysing the environmental impact of hospital visits, investigations, and comorbidities. Efforts toward sustainable healthcare practices in the preoperative setting, such as telemedicine adoption, promoting eco-friendly transportation, and optimising patient health before surgery should be encouraged.\nAnaesthesiologists should focus on the environmental impact of anaesthesia drugs, medical equipment, and electricity usage on the environment. We should be more responsible and able to justify our practices concerning the ecological implications of inhaled anaesthetic gases, propofol disposal, plastic-based equipment, and energy demands in operating rooms. The emphasis lies on adopting the 6Rs—rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and research—within anaesthesia practices to minimise environmental footprints.","PeriodicalId":132070,"journal":{"name":"Malaysian Journal of Anaesthesiology","volume":"101 S403","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Malaysian Journal of Anaesthesiology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.35119/myja.v2i2.61","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Global warming and worsening climate change threaten environmental sustainability and exacerbate disease burdens worldwide. Alarmingly, the health care sector emerged as a substantial contributor to this crisis. The operating theatre significantly contributes to hospital waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Anaesthesiologists are morally compelled to combat this crisis, aligning with our oath as physicians of “first, do no harm,” ensuring patient safety extends beyond the operating room by advocating for sustainable practices that safeguard both health and the environment. Understanding the climate change indicators reveals the alarming impact of human actions on escalating greenhouse gas emissions and their dire repercussions, such as global temperature shifts, severe weather events, and heightened natural disasters. Greener solutions and adaptive policymaking are essential to address procurement, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste management challenges in health care settings. Anaesthesiologists should collaborate with surgeons and hospital management to navigate patient-specific issues analysing the environmental impact of hospital visits, investigations, and comorbidities. Efforts toward sustainable healthcare practices in the preoperative setting, such as telemedicine adoption, promoting eco-friendly transportation, and optimising patient health before surgery should be encouraged. Anaesthesiologists should focus on the environmental impact of anaesthesia drugs, medical equipment, and electricity usage on the environment. We should be more responsible and able to justify our practices concerning the ecological implications of inhaled anaesthetic gases, propofol disposal, plastic-based equipment, and energy demands in operating rooms. The emphasis lies on adopting the 6Rs—rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and research—within anaesthesia practices to minimise environmental footprints.
绿色麻醉:对可持续围手术期做法及在马来西亚应用潜力的审查
全球变暖和日益恶化的气候变化威胁着环境的可持续发展,并加剧了全世界的疾病负担。令人震惊的是,医疗保健部门成为造成这一危机的主要因素。手术室是医院废物和温室气体排放的主要来源。麻醉科医生在道义上不得不应对这一危机,我们作为医生的誓言是 "首先,不造成伤害",通过倡导保护健康和环境的可持续做法,确保病人的安全超越手术室的范围。对气候变化指标的了解揭示了人类行为对温室气体排放升级的惊人影响及其可怕后果,如全球气温变化、恶劣天气事件和自然灾害加剧。麻醉科医生应与外科医生和医院管理层合作,分析医院就诊、检查和合并症对环境的影响,以解决患者的具体问题。麻醉科医生应关注麻醉药物、医疗设备和电力使用对环境的影响。在吸入麻醉气体、异丙酚处理、塑料设备和手术室能源需求对生态环境的影响方面,我们应该更加负责任,并能够证明我们的做法是合理的。重点在于在麻醉实践中采用 6R--反思、拒绝、减少、再利用、再循环和研究,以尽量减少环境足迹。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
自引率
0.00%
发文量
0
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信