Johannes Birtel, Maximilian Hammer, Nicolas Feltgen, Laurenz Pauleikhoff, Ariel Yuhan Ong, Gerd Geerling, Martin S Spitzer, Peter Charbel Issa
{"title":"Intravitreal Injections: Improving Sustainability by Reducing Clinical Waste.","authors":"Johannes Birtel, Maximilian Hammer, Nicolas Feltgen, Laurenz Pauleikhoff, Ariel Yuhan Ong, Gerd Geerling, Martin S Spitzer, Peter Charbel Issa","doi":"10.1055/a-2184-9492","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND\nIntravitreal injections are one of the most commonly performed procedures in ophthalmology. It is estimated that over 1 million intravitreal injections are performed in Germany annually. The aim of this study was to quantify the waste and carbon footprint associated with single-use injection sets, and to establish a waste reduction strategy.\n\n\nMATERIAL AND METHODS\nThe clinical waste and associated carbon footprint from standard disposable injection sets used by tertiary referral centres in Germany (n = 6) and the United Kingdom (n = 2) were assessed. The safety of performing intravitreal injections with a minimalistic material-sparing approach was evaluated.\n\n\nRESULTS\nThe average weight of an injection set (and hence the waste generated from each injection) was 165 g. On average, each injection set comprised 145 g (88%) of plastic, 2.1 g (1.3%) of metal, 4.3 g (2.6%) of paper), and 12.9 g (7.8%) of gauze/swabs. For 1 million injections, this equates to 145.2 tonnes (t) of plastic, 2.1 t of metal, 4.3 t of paper, and 12.9 t of gauze/swabs. A material-sparing approach can reduce injection set-associated waste by 99% without necessarily compromising safety.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nA resource-saving approach to intravitreal injections can minimise the generation of clinical waste and its associated carbon footprint, thereby supporting sustainability.","PeriodicalId":17904,"journal":{"name":"Klinische Monatsblatter fur Augenheilkunde","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Klinische Monatsblatter fur Augenheilkunde","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2184-9492","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Intravitreal injections are one of the most commonly performed procedures in ophthalmology. It is estimated that over 1 million intravitreal injections are performed in Germany annually. The aim of this study was to quantify the waste and carbon footprint associated with single-use injection sets, and to establish a waste reduction strategy.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The clinical waste and associated carbon footprint from standard disposable injection sets used by tertiary referral centres in Germany (n = 6) and the United Kingdom (n = 2) were assessed. The safety of performing intravitreal injections with a minimalistic material-sparing approach was evaluated.
RESULTS
The average weight of an injection set (and hence the waste generated from each injection) was 165 g. On average, each injection set comprised 145 g (88%) of plastic, 2.1 g (1.3%) of metal, 4.3 g (2.6%) of paper), and 12.9 g (7.8%) of gauze/swabs. For 1 million injections, this equates to 145.2 tonnes (t) of plastic, 2.1 t of metal, 4.3 t of paper, and 12.9 t of gauze/swabs. A material-sparing approach can reduce injection set-associated waste by 99% without necessarily compromising safety.
CONCLUSION
A resource-saving approach to intravitreal injections can minimise the generation of clinical waste and its associated carbon footprint, thereby supporting sustainability.
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