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TECHNOLOGY, COMPUTING, AND SIMULATION

The Use of a Uniquely Designed Anesthetic Scavenging Hood to Reduce Operating Room Anesthetic Gas Contamination During General Anesthesia

Moeen K. Panni, MD PhD^*, and Stephen B. Corn, MD^*

*Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Anesthesiology, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Stephen B. Corn, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St., Boston, MA 02115. Address e-mail to corn{at}zeus.bwh.harvard.edu

Numerous studies have suggested that chronic exposure to trace levels of anesthetic gas is harmful to operating room (OR) personnel. In the delivery of pediatric general anesthesia, an uncuffed endotracheal tube (ETT) is normally used which can result in considerable volatile anesthetic and nitrous oxide contamination of the OR. In this report, we present a method to reduce exposure to these anesthetic gases by means of an anesthetic scavenging hood (ASH). The ASH was used on six pediatric patients undergoing general endotracheal anesthesia via an uncuffed ETT. Measurements of all ambient gas levels were made 6 in. horizontally from the patient’s ear and 6 in. from the table surface. The application of the vacuum source to the ASH resulted in a very significant (P < 0.01, paired t-test) decrease in levels of ambient anesthetic gas, with no measurable change in ventilatory variables or changes in body temperature (P > 0.05, paired t-test). Discontinuation of the vacuum force to the ASH resulted in a marked increase in ambient levels of anesthetic gas. We conclude that the ASH is extremely effective in reducing waste anesthetic gas associated with anesthesia administered via an uncuffed ETT. The ASH may be a valuable and cost-effective addition in the OR for both reducing ambient anesthetic waste gas levels and conserving patient heat.

IMPLICATIONS: Chronic exposure to trace levels of anesthetic gas is harmful to operating room personnel, especially in the delivery of pediatric general anesthesia via an uncuffed endotracheal tube. The anesthetic scavenging hood is a cost-effective and efficient method to reduce these waste anesthetic gases, and it offers patient heat conservation.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. K. Panni and S. B. Corn Operating Room Gas Contamination Anesth. Analg., February 1, 2004; 98(2): 552 - 553. [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Dunn, S. B. Corn, and M. Panni Reduction of Operating Room Anesthetic Gas Contamination * Response Anesth. Analg., March 1, 2003; 96(3): 910 - 910. [Full Text] [PDF]

Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999