Peri-anesthetic Environmental and Occupational Exposure to Desflurane Waste Anesthetic Gas in a Large Animal Veterinary Hospital

Abstract

Objectives The goals were to determine the environmental levels of desflurane waste anesthetic gas and the desflurane occupational exposure of operating room staff during the anesthesia of large animal veterinary patients. Methods Active environmental sampling was performed using single-beam infrared spectrophotometry. Passive sampling with dosimeter badges was used to measure the occupational exposure of anesthesia and operating room staff. Results Higher concentrations of desflurane (n = 16) were measured at all recovery timepoints relative to the concentrations measured at all locations and timepoints at the start of anesthesia and surgery (p < 0.05). Time-weighted average desflurane concentrations from dosimeter badges (n = 310) were higher for anesthesia staff than for other operating room personnel (p < 0.0001). Conclusions The anesthetic recovery of large animal patients is a period of increased exposure to desflurane waste anesthetic gas for veterinary staff.