Pharmaceuticals account for 19–32% of healthcare greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Paracetamol is a common perioperative analgesic agent. We estimated GHG emissions associated with i.v. and oral formulations of paracetamol used in the perioperative period. Life-cycle assessment of GHG emissions (expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents CO2e) [...]
Health care is a major contributor to climate change, and critical care is one of the sector’s highest carbon emitters. Health economic evaluations form an important component of critical care and may be useful in identifying economically efficient and environmentally sustainable strategies. The purpose of [...]
Correction: Intensive Care Medicine https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-023-07256-9 The original article has been corrected. The Authors apologize for the mistake. In the second paragraph of the second page, the first sentence “When using chemical sterilisation, such as ethyleneoxide gas or glutaraldehyde solution for bronchoscopes, reusable equipment will typically always [...]
Mask induction of anesthesia for pediatric patients has included the use of nitrous oxide since the inception of pediatric anesthesia. However, the use of nitrous oxide precludes adequate preoxygenation. Additionally, pediatric physiology (less Functional Residual Capacity, higher oxygen consumption), increased risk of laryngospasm and lack [...]
A shift in practice by anaesthetists away from anaesthetic gases with high global warming potential towards lower emission techniques (e.g. total intravenous anaesthesia) could result in significant carbon savings for the health system. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to understand anaesthetists’ perspectives [...]
Many clinicians, concerned about climate change, have focussed their attention onto single-use medical items, given the large amounts of waste they produce. Since the 1990s, the use of single-use items has swelled due to infection control concerns, especially due to the emergence of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob [...]
Nitrous oxide is a useful inhaled analgesic. Due to its high global warming potential and ozone-depleting properties, the nitrous oxide emissions related to health care are being increasingly scrutinized. In this narrative review, we will discuss the clinical uses of nitrous oxide relevant to anesthetists, [...]
The need for LHDs to prepare for the effects of climate change and implement whole-of-system responses at the local level are emerging. Our rapid review found a relatively small number of studies that explored the impacts of climate change on health and health services. Most [...]
We must guide civilisation safely through the bottleneck of climate change and species mass extinction, driven by the twin challenges of over-consumption and over-population. Yet guiding this sustainability journey requires enlightenment about our individual and communal carbon footprints from health care. As an outsider to [...]
A radical and immediate engagement of all healthcare staff, particularly those who work in the ICU is necessary to join the race to zero carbon emissions. The following aspects will be crucial: prevention of chronic and acute (e.g. Pandemic) diseases to decrease the need for [...]