Da Hyun Jung, Hyun Jung Lee, Tae Joo Jeon, Young Sin Cho, Bo Ra Kang, Nae Sun Youn, Jae Myung Cha
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background/aims: Although gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of national healthcare, the amount of medical waste generated by GIE procedures is not reported in South Korea. This study aimed to measure the amount of medical waste generated from GIE procedures in South Korea.
Methods: We conducted a 5-day audit of medical waste generated during GIEs at seven hospitals. During the study period, medical waste in the endoscopy examination rooms was measured twice daily and documented as mass (kg). To calculate the mean mass of disposable waste generated during one esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and one colonoscopy, the mean mass of medical waste generated from seven examinations was calculated. The mean mass of medical waste generated during GIEs was calculated by dividing the total mass of medical waste generated by the number of GIE procedures.
Results: Overall, 3,922 endoscopies were performed and 4,558 kg of waste was generated. The mean weight of medical waste generated per endoscopy was 1.34 kg. Each EGD and colonoscopy generated a mean of 0.24 kg and 0.43 kg of disposable waste, respectively. Applying the mean waste estimates from this study to annual GIE procedures performed in South Korea in 2022 showed that the total medical waste produced from GIE was 13,704,453 kg. In addition, the total masses of medical waste produced during EGD and colonoscopy procedures were 819,766 kg and 2,889,478 kg, respectively.
Conclusions: Our quantitative measurement showed that a large amount of medical waste is generated from GIE procedures. However, further research is warranted to reduce medical waste generated during GIE, which is an urgent unmet need.
期刊介绍：
Gut and Liver is an international journal of gastroenterology, focusing on the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary tree, pancreas, motility, and neurogastroenterology. Gut and Liver delivers up-to-date, authoritative papers on both clinical and research-based topics in gastroenterology. The Journal publishes original articles, case reports, brief communications, letters to the editor and invited review articles in the field of gastroenterology. The Journal is operated by internationally renowned editorial boards and designed to provide a global opportunity to promote academic developments in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology.
Gut and Liver is jointly owned and operated by 8 affiliated societies in the field of gastroenterology, namely: the Korean Society of Gastroenterology, the Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the Korean Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research, the Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases, the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver, the Korean Pancreatobiliary Association, and the Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer.
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