Association between reusable anesthesia circuits and hospital waste reduction, cost savings, and environmental impact: A quality improvement study

Q2 Nursing

Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management Pub Date : 2025-06-28 DOI:10.1016/j.pcorm.2025.100518

Aurora N. Quaye , Charm Karunasiri , Janelle Richard , Michael Arsnow , Robert Montague , Wendy Craig , Alysse G. Wurcel

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Anesthesia services are a major contributor to healthcare sector greenhouse gas emissions. Interventions aimed to reduce waste are necessary. Reusable anesthesia circuits offer a sustainable alternative to single-use circuits. Their adoption in the United States remains limited. The objective of this project was to evaluate the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and environmental impact of using FDA-approved reusable anesthesia circuits.

Methods

Supported by the SMART QI framework, we evaluated the impact of switching to reusable circuits on elective electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) procedures. We measured waste generation, room preparation times, material costs, and projected system wide financial and greenhouse gas emissions impact. Greenhouse gas emissions were estimated using the Practice Greenhealth Scope 3 Emissions Accounting Tool. Descriptive statistics compared pre- and post-intervention outcomes, with statistical significance at p < 0.05.

Results

We compared 185 ECT procedures: 98 single-use from pre-intervention and 87 reusable circuits from post-intervention. Preparation times did not change. Daily waste from reusable circuits was significantly lower than single-use circuits (99.2 g vs. 357.2 g, p < 0.001). Cost analysis revealed 40 % reduction in median per-case expenditures with reusable circuits ($4.30 vs. $8.50 per patient, p < 0.001).Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions per procedure decreased nearly 50 % (1.09 kgCO₂ vs. 2.57 kgCO₂, p < 0.001). Modeling of institutional-level data projected an annual cost savings of $108,860 and a reduction of 45,062.4 kgCO₂ if reusable circuits were implemented across all hospitals in the network.

Discussion

Reusable anesthesia circuits can significantly reduce hospital waste, lower costs, and decrease carbon emissions without compromising procedural efficiency.

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可重复使用麻醉电路与医院减少废物、节约成本和环境影响之间的关系：一项质量改进研究

背景麻醉服务是医疗保健部门温室气体排放的主要来源。旨在减少浪费的干预措施是必要的。可重复使用的麻醉电路为一次性麻醉电路提供了一种可持续的选择。它们在美国的采用仍然有限。该项目的目的是评估使用fda批准的可重复使用麻醉回路的可行性、成本效益和环境影响。方法在SMART QI框架的支持下，我们评估切换到可重复使用电路对选择性电休克治疗（ECT）程序的影响。我们测量了废物产生、房间准备时间、材料成本，并预测了整个系统的财务和温室气体排放影响。温室气体排放量是使用实践绿色健康范围3排放核算工具估计的。描述性统计比较干预前后的结果，p <有统计学意义；0.05.结果我们比较了185例ECT手术：干预前98例为一次性电路，干预后87例为可重复使用电路。准备时间没有改变。可重复使用电路的日浪费明显低于一次性电路(99.2 g vs 357.2 g, p <；0.001)。成本分析显示，使用可重复使用电路的中位数每例支出减少了40%（4.30美元对8.50美元/例）。0.001)。范围3每道工序的温室气体排放量减少近50% （1.09 kgCO₂vs 2.57 kgCO₂），p <；0.001)。机构级数据建模预测，如果在网络中的所有医院中实施可重复使用的电路，每年可节省108,860美元的成本，减少45,062.4千克二氧化碳。可重复使用的麻醉电路可以显著减少医院浪费，降低成本，减少碳排放，同时不影响手术效率。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management Nursing-Medical and Surgical Nursing

CiteScore

1.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

56 days

期刊介绍： The objective of this new online journal is to serve as a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed source of information related to the administrative, economic, operational, safety, and quality aspects of the ambulatory and in-patient operating room and interventional procedural processes. The journal will provide high-quality information and research findings on operational and system-based approaches to ensure safe, coordinated, and high-value periprocedural care. With the current focus on value in health care it is essential that there is a venue for researchers to publish articles on quality improvement process initiatives, process flow modeling, information management, efficient design, cost improvement, use of novel technologies, and management.