Background And Aims: There is growing interest in the environmental impact of surgical procedures, yet more information is needed specifically regarding liver transplantation. This study aims to quantify the total greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon footprint, associated with adult whole-size liver transplantation from donors after brain death, including the relevant back-table graft preparation.
Methods: The carbon footprint was calculated retrospectively using a bottom-up approach. This approach sums the volumes of energy consumption (kWh), volatile anesthetics (ml), solid waste (kg), and units of blood products transfused for each transplant. These consumption values were converted using validated conversion factors to the equivalent mass of carbon dioxide released into the environment (kg CO2e).
Results: A total of 147 patients with a mean age of 55 years (male, 78.9%) who underwent liver transplants between 2021 and 2022 were analyzed, resulting in 45.5 tons CO2e. The mean (SD) carbon footprint for each procedure was 309.8 (33.2) kg CO2e [95% CI: 304.4; 315.3]. Total energy power consumption was 96.5 MW, contributing 65.4% of greenhouse emissions (29.8 tons CO2e), while volatile anesthetics, solid waste, and blood product transfusions contributed 8.0% (3.64 tons CO2e), 5.9% (2.7 tons CO2e), and 20.6% (9.4 tons CO2e), respectively. The duration of surgery ( = 29.0; < 0.001), transfused red blood cells ( = 13.1; < 0.001), fresh frozen plasma ( = 11.1; < 0.001), platelets ( = 8.9; < 0.001), and the use of an extracorporeal pump machine ( = 3.6; < 0.001) had the greatest effects on greenhouse gas emissions.
Conclusions: Liver transplantation requires significant energy and is associated with considerable greenhouse gas emissions, particularly during longer procedures. Transplant clinicians, hospital administrators, policymakers, and patients should be aware of the environmental impact of liver transplantation and collaborate to adopt sustainable energy practices.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11743657 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frtra.2024.1441928 | DOI Listing |
Front Transplant
January 2025
Department of Surgical, Medical, Biomolecular Pathology and Intensive Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Background And Aims: There is growing interest in the environmental impact of surgical procedures, yet more information is needed specifically regarding liver transplantation. This study aims to quantify the total greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon footprint, associated with adult whole-size liver transplantation from donors after brain death, including the relevant back-table graft preparation.
Methods: The carbon footprint was calculated retrospectively using a bottom-up approach.
J Grad Med Educ
December 2024
is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, and Affiliate Faculty, Global Change and Sustainability Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
With an increased focus on climate change in graduate medical education (GME), the environmental implications of travel for board certification examinations remain poorly described. The return to the mandatory in-person applied examination (AE) for board eligible anesthesiologists presents potentially sizeable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when compared to the virtual format administered during the COVID-19 pandemic. To estimate the GHG emissions from air travel to the in-person AE and discuss its implications for various specialties as they return to in-person examinations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
November 2024
Group for Sustainability and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Lancet Planet Health
November 2024
Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Erasmus Medical Center Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Electronic address:
Background: Hospitals contribute substantially to greenhouse gas emissions and face a moral obligation to prioritise emission reduction. Drugs constitute an important component of the greenhouse gas emissions of hospitals. Alternative dosing strategies (ADS) have been implemented to improve the cost-effectiveness of pembrolizumab and nivolumab.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCan J Anaesth
November 2024
University of Lyon, INSA-Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!