OHIO – OhioHealth has replaced the inhaled anesthetic gas desflurane with sevoflurane due to its harmful effects on the environment.
A press release from the hospital network says it is the first health system in Central Ohio to do so. They also point out that most of the anesthetic gas given to patients – to prevent pain/consciousness – is exhaled back into the atmosphere, where it remains for 14 years.
They say they used the gas in about 40% of operations before working on sustainability.
“Desflurane is the inhalation anesthetic that is the most potent greenhouse gas with the greatest greenhouse effect,” said Dr. Arvind Malik, an anesthesiologist at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, in the press release. “Because climate change directly contributes to humanitarian emergencies, reducing greenhouse gases can have tremendous benefits for the health of our population.”
The network says that this change will bring it closer to its climate and sustainability goals while aligning it with the standards of other networks.
“Anesthesiologists from across the health system, in collaboration with OhioHealth’s pharmacy, internal audit, supply chain services, clinical engineering and environmental sustainability teams, have played a key role in the five-year project to move away from desflurane,” said Adam Trimble, OhioHealth’s medication compliance coordinator, in the press release.
According to the hospital, there has been a “90 percent reduction” in greenhouse gas emissions from anesthetic gases since desflurane was phased out of practice.
“Protecting the environment ultimately impacts our patients and their health,” Dr. Shawn Cuevas, an OhioHealth board-certified anesthesiologist, said in the press release. “So if there are equivalent alternatives with less environmental impact, it is our responsibility to consider them.”
