Anesthesia for total knee replacements was found to have a large carbon footprint, according to a study in Anesthesiology.
The study, conducted in Melbourne, Australia, collected input data in 29 knee replacement patients for anesthetic items, gases, drugs and electricity for patient warming and anesthetic machines. General, spinal and combination anesthesia were assessed.
The overall carbon dioxide emissions were on average similar between the three groups of anesthesia. General anesthesia used an average 14.9 kg, spinal anesthesia used 16.9 kg and combination methods used 18.5 kg. Major sources were single-use disposable items, electricity for the patient air warmer and pharmaceutical products.
Those figures are the rough equivalent of driving a U.S. car 42 miles, according to a Sept. 16 news release.
Researchers concluded: "All anesthetic approaches had similar carbon footprints (desflurane and nitrous oxide were not used for general anesthesia). Rather than spinal being a default low carbon approach, several choices determine the final carbon footprint: using low-flow anesthesia/total intravenous anesthesia, reducing single-use plastics, reducing oxygen flows, and collaborating with engineers to augment energy efficiency/renewable electricity."