Pollution of Ambient Air by Volatile Anesthetics: A Comparison of Four Anesthetic Management Techniques

摘要

Chronic exposure to waste anesthetic gas (WAG) may lead to health problems. The purpose of this study was to compare WAG concentrations resulting from four combinations of FGF and vaporizer settings during a simulated intravenous induction where the anesthetic is deepened using a volatile anesthetic delivered via mask ventilation prior to intubation. Using lung model, WAG was sampled three times each using four different combinations and three volatile anesthetics: 3% sevoflurane, 2% isoflurane, and 6% desflurane. The combinations were FGF off/vaporizer on, FGF on/vaporizer off, leaving both on and turning both off. WAG was measured using a MIRAN Ambient Air Analyzer placed at a level approximating the anesthetist's head. One-way analysis of variance with a Student-Newman-Keuls post hoc test was used to compare the concentration of WAG among the combinations of FGF/vaporizer settings and among the agents for a given combination. Regardless of the agent, only the FGF on/vaporizer on combination resulted in a statistically greater WAG level.