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[Levels of "waste" halothane in operating rooms at gynecologic and obstetrical clinics--preliminary results].

INTRODUCTION: Medical staff working in surgical wards of hospitals, people that work on transport or storaging of gases and liquids, employees working on gas tanks and gas installations, mechanics for anesthetic devices and employees in the process of production of these substances are professionally exposed to anesthetic gases or and fumes that are released in their working environment. It has been confirmed that there were some deviations of indicators of the liver function after a long term exposure of the medical staff (surgeons, anesthesiologists, instrument nurses and anesthetists) to halothane and it has been notified that the level of wasted-halothane in the indoor air of the surgical theaters should be measured in order to get a correct and complete evaluation of the professional risk. The term "wasted-halothane" in this research means fumes of halothane that leave a closed circle: anesthetic device--respiratory organs (patient)--indoor air of the workplace (operating room). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tests were done in the theaters of the surgical wards of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Novi Sad. During the testing period no ventilation system was used in any of the theaters. Tested groups included anesthesiologists, instrument nurses and anesthetists who were the members of the surgical team. Tests have not been done on same individuals, but the same workplace. Samples were taken using the "individual sample" method from the breathing zone of the tested person using a rubber pipe fixed on the shoulder. Pumps (personal samplers--"Casella") were set to absorb 0.2 liters of air per minute. Laboratory analyses of these samples were done using a method of desorption of the halothane fumes from the active coal with benzyl-alcohol, and their evaluation on gaschromatograph (Electron-Capture-Detector). The threshold Limit Value (TLV) of halothane fumes at the workplace is 40 mg/m3. RESULTS: During three days of sampling 32 samples of indoor air were taken from the surgical wards of the Department. 30 samples were taken in the surgical theaters, one in the hall between surgical theaters, and one in the room for rest of the staff. Concentration of halothane fumes in the theatre No 1 was between 6.9 mg/m3 and 27.31 mg/m3 in anesthetists, between 33.08 mg/m3 and 37.62 mg/m3 in anesthesiologists and between 6.9 mg/m3 and 27.31 mg/m3 in instrument nurses. At the theatre No 2 concentration of halothane fumes was between 31.27 mg/m3 and 37.9 mg/m3 in anesthetists, between 3.56 mg/m3 and 91.7 mg/m3 in anesthesiologists and up to 95.5 mg/m3 in instrumenting nurses. Concentration of halothane fumes in the theatre No 3 were between 4.19 mg/m3 and 17.18 mg/m3 in anesthetics, between 6.23 mg/m3 and 37.62 mg/m3 in anesthesiologists and between 8.27 mg/m3 and 12.33 mg/m3 in instrument nurses. In the hall between these surgical theaters the concentration was 3.02 mg/m3 and 0.28 mg/m3 in the room for rest. DISCUSSION: Halothane fumes were present in the atmosphere of the working environment in significant quantities at all tested places Especially indicative were the results that showed that the concentration of halothane fumes in the theatre No 1, at the end of surgical operational program, was much higher than at the beginning, and what is even more important it was much higher than those in TLV in anesthesiologists and instrument nurses (more than twice higher). The differences of concentrations between specific occupations within the surgical team were also significant. Our results show that the most exposed were anesthesiologists and instrument nurses, who spent most time nearby the operation table. The anesthetists were much less exposed, due to the fact that they are assistants that often leave the surgical theater during the surgical interventions. Indicators illustrate that the increase of the concentration of halothane fumes depends on the length the surgical theaters were used. It shows an increase of halothane fumes co

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1976

Report of the Inter-Society Commission for Heart Disease Resources. Optimal resources for examination of the chest and cardiovascular system. A hospital planning and resource guideline. Radiologic facilities for conventional x-ray examination of the heart and lungs. Catheterization-angiographic Laboratories. Radiologic resources for cardiovascular surgical operating rooms and intensive care units.

This is an updated and expanded planning and oprimal resource guideline for diagnostic examinations of the cardiovascular system. Catheterization-angiographic laboratories are described and detailed specifications given for radiologic and physiologic equipment. Case loads for maintaining safe and effective performance are recommended and complication rates discussed. An optimal location for the laboratory is defined and the status of affiliated laboratories reviewed. Professional staff qualifications, relationships and requirements are enumerated and recommendations are made for organization and administration of the services. There is a protocol for electrical safety and radiation protection and a data base for assessing case loads in hospitals within a community or region. This statement also defines optimal facility and equipment criteria for conventional chest x-rays and radiologic equipment requirements for cardiovascular surgical operating rooms and intensive care units.

Angiocardiography↗
PubMed2001

A statistical analysis of weekday operating room anesthesia group staffing costs at nine independently managed surgical suites.

UNLABELLED: At many surgical suites, surgeons and patients schedule elective cases on whatever future workday they choose, resulting in there being no limit on the number of cases performed each day. Staff are then scheduled in the manner that satisfies the marketing guarantee to the surgeons, satisfies labor contracts, and minimizes staffing costs. We assessed weekday nurse anesthesia group staffing at nine such suites to determine whether statistical methods can identify staffing solutions whereby all the cases are covered but for which staffing costs are less than those obtained using the staffing plans implemented by anesthesia groups' managers. Two years of operating room information system case duration and staffing data were analyzed. First- and second-shift staffing was assessed using previously published algorithms. The statistical methods identified staffing solutions with significantly decreased labor costs than those currently being used at eight of the nine surgical suites. The statistical methods relied more on overtime than second-shift staffing. The incremental decrease in staffing costs achievable by using overlapping 8-, 10-, and 13-h shifts was negligible. Overall, we found that statistical methods can identify, for some surgical suites, staffing solutions whereby all the cases are covered but for which costs are significantly less and productivity significantly more than those obtained using the plans developed by the managers based on their experience and the data. IMPLICATIONS: Statistical methods can identify, for some surgical suites, anesthesia staffing solutions whereby all the cases are covered but for which labor costs are significantly less than those obtained using the staffing plans developed by the managers based on data and their experience.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed2000

Development of a decision support system to assist anesthesiologists in operating room.

The complexity of modern anesthesia procedures requires the development of decision-support systems functioning in a smart-alarm capacity. We developed computer algorithms to detect critical conditions during surgery (light anesthesia or unstable blood pressure), based on computerized anesthesia records containing hemodynamic data (heart rate, mean arterial pressure and systolic arterial pressure). Our analysis indicated that a > or = 12% change in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), compared with the median value of MAP over the preceding 10-min interval, may be chosen as the criterion for detecting LA, with a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 91%. The best agreement between human and computer ratings of blood pressure lability (correlation coefficient 0.78) was achieved when we used the absolute value of the fractional change of the mean arterial pressure (magnitude of FCM) between one 2-min epoch and the next 2-min epoch. Work is under progress to develop a decision-support system to alert clinicians in the operating room environment to critical events.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

[Quantitative assessment of pressure relief at the sacral area in adults lying supine on the operating room table].

BACKGROUND: It is important to prevent development of the pressure ulcers in patients undergoing lengthy surgery, particularly at areas of skin overlying bony prominences. This study was designed to investigate distribution of the interface pressure (IP) over the body area (from the head to pelvic area) in supine adults and also evaluate the ability of a polyurethane-made cushion to reduce the IP at their sacral area. METHODS: Utilizing a recently developed device to measure the IP (ERGO-CHECK, ABW Co., Germany), we evaluated distribution of the IP (estimated per 3 x 4 cm2 area) over the body area in healthy volunteers (n=31) and patients under general anesthesia (n=6) lying supine on the operating room (OR) table. RESULTS: In all the subjects, the highest IP was generated at the sacrum; 62.5 +/- 23.8 (mean +/- SD) and 35.7 +/- 5.5 mmHg in the volunteers and patients, respectively. The polyurethane-made, "doughnut" cushion (5 cm in thickness) inserted between the pelvic area and the OR table significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the IP at the sacrum in both groups: the IPs after the insertion in the volunteers and patients were 35.1 +/- 11.1 and 25.6 +/- 6.5 mmHg, respectively. In addition, the insertion significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the high-risk area (i.e., area of IP > 32 mmHg) in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative assessment of the IP would be useful in evaluating precisely the effectiveness of various types of pillows, cushions, or mattresses designed to reduce the IP.

Beds↗
PubMed1991

[Anesthetic gas contamination in the operating room--an unsolved problem? Results of our own studies].

Ambient air concentrations of nitrous oxide (N2O) and volatile anesthetics were assessed under routine conditions in a total of 41 surgical suites located at seven Vienna hospitals. Continuous measurements were performed by means of infrared trace gas analyzers throughout a period of approximately 450 h. Additional analyses of ventilation facilities (if installed) revealed no essential deficiencies; however, anesthetic gas scavenging (AGS) systems yielded insufficient flow rates in 32% (less than 25 l/min). In surgical suites without mechanical ventilation or scavenging systems (2 out of 41), maximum occupational threshold limits (i.e., 100 ppm N2O; 5 ppm halothane) were exceeded continuously and to considerable degrees throughout the duration of anesthesia. During measurements conducted in operating rooms (ORs) in otolaryngology departments, extreme peaks (greater than 2600 ppm N2O, greater than 150 ppm halothane) of several minutes duration were documented when open-circuit anesthesia was performed. In the general surgical ORs equipped with modern ventilation facilities ambient air contamination was lowest, time-weighted average (TWA) values ranging from 8 to 15 ppm (mean 11 +/- 3 ppm) for N2O and 0.1 to 0.6 ppm (mean 0.3 +/- 0.2 ppm) for the halogenated anesthetic. Despite good ventilation and scavenging in the gynecological ORs, distinctly higher concentrations (mean 83 +/- 49, range 24-211 ppm N2O; mean 0.75 +/- 0.3, range 0.3 to 1.3 ppm volatile agent) were measured in cases where anesthesia was delivered by mask. TWA values exceeding currently established maximum workplace concentrations were found in an unscavenged but ventilated urological OR. At present, short-term concentration peaks seem to be inevitable even under optimal OR ventilation conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2005

Automatic detection and notification of "wrong patient-wrong location'' errors in the operating room.

When procedures and processes to assure patient location based on human performance do not work as expected, patients are brought incrementally closer to a possible "wrong patient-wrong procedure'' error. We developed a system for automated patient location monitoring and management. Real-time data from an active infrared/radio frequency identification tracking system provides patient location data that are robust and can be compared with an "expected process'' model to automatically flag wrong-location events as soon as they occur. The system also generates messages that are automatically sent to process managers via the hospital paging system, thus creating an active alerting function to annunciate errors. We deployed the system to detect and annunciate "patient-in-wrong-OR'' events. The system detected all "wrong-operating room (OR)'' events, and all "wrong-OR'' locations were correctly assigned within 0.50+/-0.28 minutes (mean+/-SD). This corresponded to the measured latency of the tracking system. All wrong-OR events were correctly annunciated via the paging function. This experiment demonstrates that current technology can automatically collect sufficient data to remotely monitor patient flow through a hospital, provide decision support based on predefined rules, and automatically notify stakeholders of errors.

Automation↗
PubMed2003

[Occupational exposure of operating room staff to anesthetic gases during inhaled induction--a comparison with intravenous anesthesia induction].

BACKGROUND: The risk of occupational exposure to waste anesthetic gases still remains during inhaled induction. In this study we investigated how much we were occupationally exposed to anesthetic gases during induction period. METHODS: Twenty-six adult patients were induced with sevoflurane 5% using a face mask for three minutes and maintained with sevoflurane 1% after end-tracheal intubations (IH-Group). Twenty-two adult patients were induced with intravenous anesthetics and maintained with sevoflurane 1% after end-tracheal intubations(IV-Group). The concentration of sevoflurane was measured by Multi-gas Monitor 1302 (Bruel & Kjaer: Denmark) every 70 seconds. Sample gas was suctioned from breathing zone of anesthesiologists. All of our operating rooms are equipped with waste gas scavenging system. RESULTS: The peak concentration of sevoflurane is significantly higher in IH-Group (15.91 +/- 22.64 ppm) compared with IV-group (0.36 +/- 0.25 ppm). The period when sevoflurane concentration exceeded 0.5 ppm is significantly longer IH-Group (18.55 +/- 10.51 min.) compared to IV-Group (1.92 +/- 4.56 min.). CONCLUSION: The induction with intravenous anesthetics is a better method in order to reduce occupational exposure of anesthesiologists to anesthetic gases.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Clinical evaluation of the ABL-77 for point-of-care analysis in the cardiovascular operating room.

As a small portable instrument, which can be dedicated to the perfusionist, the Radiometer model ABL-77 point-of-care blood gas, electrolyte, and hematocrit analyzer has come to provide an alternative to in-line monitoring of such parameters. This is not to say that it can necessarily replace the utility of in-line monitoring. However, point of care instruments, such as the ABL-77, can provide faster results than a more remote lab. This study was done as part of an ongoing quality assurance program in conjunction with the main lab department to maintain accreditation. The hypothesis being tested is that during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) the ABL-77 is in agreement with alternative instruments used outside the cardiovascular operating room. With the appropriate institutional approval, a total of 20 blood samples were randomly gathered among five patients after initiation of CPB. This was done over a five-day period for pH, pCO2, pO2, potassium, sodium, and hematocrit determinations. Analysis results from the ABL-77 were compared to those made by three other bench top models. These included a Radiometer model ABL-720 analyzer, a Dale Dimension model RxL analyzer, and a Beckerman model LH 750 Coulter Counter. A statistically significant difference is demonstrated for all parameters when each of these instruments is compared to the ABL-77. However, the observed mean differences are only judged to be clinically significant in the case of hematocrit. The ABL-77 is found to demonstrate a negative bias with respect to the different methodologies used by the ABL-720 and the Coulter Counter. This bias may be due to the hemodilution of plasma with crystalloid solution during CPB. This causes error in hematocrit results as the methodology of many point of care instruments is based on the electrical conductivity of whole blood. This may be corrected by using a relationship determined from linear regression analysis. This error adjustment has been implemented as part of a concerted blood conservation effort. Otherwise, the ABL-77 has been found to be reliable and consistent for point of care blood analysis.

Blood Gas Analysis↗
PubMed2006

Safety considerations for operating room personnel during hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy perfusion.

The new treatment strategy for Peritoneal Surface Malignancy combines a cytoreductive surgery and perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Cytoreduction removes all macroscopic tumor. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy avoids implantation of microscopic residual tumor cells on intra-abdominal surfaces when it is administered intraoperatively and/or early in the postoperative period. Delivering cytotoxic drugs directly into the peritoneal cavity maximizes dose intensity and minimizes systemic toxicity. Hyperthermia is selectively cytotoxic for malignant cells and potentiates the effect of chemotherapy. Implementation of this procedure makes the perioperative personnel to face a risk of exposure to cytotoxic agents. Furthermore, peritonectomies and electro-evaporation of tumor nodules are performed with high voltage electrocautery, generating a large amount of surgical smoke during several hours. Inhalation of these fumes may be also a risk for healthcare workers. In this article, we analyse in depth these new risks of the operating room personnel, we review the literature, and we give guidelines for secure performance of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy, as well as for early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy administration. These new procedures are safe techniques for patients and healthcare workers provided adequate policies are adopted to avoid occupational exposure.

Antineoplastic Agents↗