Purpose: Environmental sustainability is an important issue in health care because of large amounts of greenhouse gases attributable to hospitals. The operating room has been highlighted as one of the highest contributors, prompting several initiatives by organizations focused on the care of hand and upper extremity conditions. This study aimed to quantify and compare the carbon footprint of a common hand surgery in two different surgical settings, the procedure room (PR) and operating room. We hypothesized that open carpal tunnel release (oCTR) will generate a greater environmental impact in the operating room than in the PR.
Methods: This was a retrospective review of oCTRs performed at a tertiary care medical center. Current procedural technology codes isolated a single cohort of patients who underwent bilateral oCTR, one side performed in the PR and the contralateral side in the operating room. Current published emission conversions were used to calculate carbon footprint at our institution based on energy expenditure necessary for the creation and disposal of waste and sterilization of surgical equipment. Surgery time was combined with heating, ventilation and air conditioning/lighting energy consumption to estimate facility emissions.
Results: Fourteen patients had bilateral oCTR surgery performed in both settings. Open CTR performed in the operating room generated 3.7 kg more solid waste than when performed in the PR. In total, emissions from oCTR performed in the operating room generated 32.4 kg CO, whereas oCTR in the PR emitted 13.0 kg CO per surgery.
Conclusions: Performing a common hand procedure (oCTR) is more environmentally sustainable in the PR than in the operating room, with a 60% reduction in carbon footprint.
Clinical Relevance: Greater effort should be made to perform surgery in the PR instead of the operating room in appropriately indicated patients. Surgical sets should be evaluated for the necessity of included equipment and unnecessary waste.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2024.03.014 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Emotional analysis of operating room nurses in acute care hospitals in Japan: insights using ChatGPT.
BMC Nurs
January 2025
Department of Healthcare Management Research Center, Chiba University Hospital, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan.
Aim: This study aimed to explore the emotions of operating room nurses in Japan towards perioperative nursing using generative AI and human analysis, and to identify factors contributing to burnout and turnover.
Methods: A single-center cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2023 to February 2024, involving semi-structured interviews with 10 operating room nurses from a national hospital in Japan. Interview transcripts were analyzed using generative AI (ChatGPT-4o) and human researchers for thematic, emotional, and subjectivity analysis.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between exposure to disinfection byproducts of chlorination and preterm birth (PTB) through evidence-based medicine Meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
Study Design: Meta-analysis was conducted on 17 studies involving 1,251,426 neonates, revealing a higher risk of PTB with exposure to total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and chloroform. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis confirmed a causal relationship between chlorides and PTB.
Take a Deep Breath: Operating Room Extubation After Bilateral Lung Transplantation on Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.
J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth
November 2024
Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL.
Usefulness of Portable Ultrasound for the Diagnosis of Hepatic Steatosis and Degree of Agreement With Macroscopic and Microscopic Findings of the Hepatic Graft Accepted for Transplantation.
Transplant Proc
January 2025
Donation and Transplant Coordination Section, Clínic Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Background: The viability of the liver pre-transplant depends on the type of donor, age, medical history, circumstances of death, result of analytics, and complementary exploration of the abdominal cavity. Abdominal ultrasound is the initial option for the assessment of previously unknown liver disease, such as the qualitative determination of hepatic steatosis . The presence of hepatic steatosis is considered a risk factor for graft failure after liver transplantation, therefore, at the time of clinical assessment of the donor or its presence in the macroscopic assessment in the operating room can be cause for rejection of the organ by the transplant teams.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaintenance of intraoperative correction with multi-rod constructs in adult long construct spine fusion surgery.
Clin Neurol Neurosurg
January 2025
Department of Neurological Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk factors for loss of intraoperative correction, as measured by lumbar lordosis (LL), with an emphasis on rod characteristics.
Methods: A retrospective study identified patients at least 50 years of age who underwent instrumented fusion with an upper instrumented vertebrae (UIV) in the upper thoracic spine (T1-T6) or thoracolumbar junction (T10-L2) to the pelvis. Inclusion criteria included intraoperative x-rays that allowed for LL measurement, postop standing x-rays, and a minimum follow up of 24 months with the original rods still in place.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!