Impact of desflurane removal from the operating room on carbon dioxide emissions at a tertiary academic medical centre: a retrospective cohort study
Authors' conclusion
Eliminating desflurane led to a substantial reduction in anaesthesia-related CO2e-emissions of ∼900 metric tonnes annually.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing inhalational anaesthesia at a US academic medical centre, 2014–2022
- Participants
- 124,428 patients
- Exposure
- Restrictive use and complete elimination of desflurane vs prior period
- Outcome
- CO2e-emissions per patient
Methodological detailsinterrupted time series analysis, adjusted for patient and procedural factors, single-centre
- Interrupted time series analysis
- Adjusted for patient and procedural factors
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Mean CO2e-emissions per patient, June 2014 (median 23.6 kg, IQR 10.1-107.8)
83.1 kg
Mean CO2e-emissions per patient, June 2022 (median 8.5 kg, IQR 4.2-15.9)
14.3 kg
Restrictive use of desflurane, adjusted change per patient
−1.53 kg
95% CI −1.88 to −1.18P<0.001
Subsequent elimination of desflurane, additional adjusted change per patient (−0.80 to −0.19; P=0.002)
−0.50 kg
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Relative contribution to CO2e-emissions before desflurane elimination
- Desflurane main contributor
- 74%
Dominant predictors of CO2e-emissions after desflurane elimination
- N2O use
- 73%
- High FGF (>3.42 L min-1)
- 4%
Original publication
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