The carbon footprints of home and in-center peritoneal dialysis in China

Chen, Mindong; Zhou, Rong; Du, Chongbo; Meng, Fulei; Wang, Yanli; Wu, Liping; Wang, Fang; Ye, Xu; Yang, Xiufen

doi:10.1007/s11255-016-1418-5

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Prior healthcare LCA studies have focused on comparing reusable and disposable medical equipment such as laryngoscopes, laryngeal mask airways, and dental burs, often showing that reusable medical equipment has lower environmental impacts (Sherman and Eckelman 2018;Unger and Landis 2014;Eckelman et al 2012). Researchers have also conducted LCAs for specific medical procedures such as childbirth (Campion et al 2012), hysterectomy (Thiel et al 2018(Thiel et al , 2014Power et al 2012), eye surgeries (Thiel et al 2017;Tauber et al 2019), plastic and other surgeries (Berner et al 2017;MacNeill et al 2017), dialysis (Piccoli and Mery 2017;Barraclough et al 2017;Chen et al 2016;Lim et al 2013;Connor et al 2011), radiology (Martin et al 2018;Chua et al 2021), and pathology (Gordon et al 2021). Studies at this level often report the largest share of emissions coming from single use and disposable supply production as well as energy use, though LCAs in low-resource setting often show more efficient resource utilization and variance in sources of emissions (Goel et al 2021;Steyn et al 2020).…”

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confidence: 99%

Environmental footprint of regular and intensive inpatient care in a large US hospital

Prasad¹,

Joshi

Lighter

et al. 2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose Environmental sustainability is a growing concern to healthcare providers, given the health impacts of climate change and air pollution, and the sizable footprint of healthcare delivery itself. Though many studies have focused on environmental footprints of operating rooms, few have quantified emissions from inpatient stays. This study quantifies solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) per bed-day in a regular inpatient (low intensity) and intensive care unit (high intensity). Methods This study uses hybrid environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify average emissions associated with resource use in an acute inpatient unit with 49 beds and 14,427 hospitalization days and an intensive care unit (ICU) with 12 beds and 2536 hospitalization days. The units are located in a single tertiary, private hospital in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Results and discussion An acute care unit generates 5.5 kg of solid waste and 45 kg CO2-e per hospitalization day. The ICU generates 7.1 kg of solid waste and 138 kg CO2-e per bed day. Most emissions originate from purchase of consumable goods, building energy consumption, purchase of capital equipment, food services, and staff travel. Conclusions The ICU generates more solid waste and GHGs per bed day than the acute care unit. With resource use and emission data, sustainability strategies can be effectively targeted and tested. Medical device and supply manufacturers should also aim to minimize direct solid waste generation.

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confidence: 99%

Environmental footprint of regular and intensive inpatient care in a large US hospital

Prasad¹,

Joshi

Lighter

et al. 2021

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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“…18 PD waste disposal also generates significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions too. 19 We must pay attention to these costs of home therapies to the environment, as recently discussed by Barraclough and Agar, who call on the nephrology community to improve packaging of PD fluids or consider “point-of-care dialysate generation”. 20…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unexpected sequelae of the COVID-19 pandemic: A strange case of myoclonus in the Tasmanian winter

2020

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Peritoneal dialysis treatment generates significant amounts of waste for disposal from patients’ homes. In Australia, in the days after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, waste collection from homes was temporarily stopped. Our patient tried to dispose of his waste by burning the used bags and tubing, using paint thinner as an accelerant. We present a case report of the unusual neurological complication he developed.

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“…The number of the Japanese language papers discussing heat stroke has been increasing steadily (A). In contrast, the number of medical journal publications regarding climate change (with or without reference to kidney disease) remains low (while slowly increasing) in Japan compared to international trends for this topic (B-D) peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been estimated as only 1.4 t CO 2 e, a value that is substantially lower than that of HD [30]. However, in this study, the carbon emissions impact of pharmaceutical use and of transportation of PD fluids from the point of manufacture to the point of care were not considered; as a result, 80% of the carbon footprint of PD was attributed to packing materials such as plastic bags and cardboard.…”

Section: Kidney Healthcare Is Responsible For Environmental Burdensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability in dialysis therapy: Japanese local and global challenge

et al. 2021

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Human-induced climate change is considered the greatest health threat of the 21st century. The health effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, and there is substantial evidence indicating increased risk of kidney injury due to heat illness and other climate change-related meteorological abnormalities. On the other hand, healthcare itself is responsible for environmental burdens and has been estimated to generate between 3 and 10% of total national CO2 equivalent emissions. Dialysis has been estimated as one of the major contributors to healthcare’s carbon footprint. Especially in Australia and the UK, nations that have high awareness regarding environmental research, “Green Nephrology” has emerged as a new discipline. From both of these countries, a series of papers have been produced outlining the carbon footprint of hemodialysis, the results of surveys of specialists’ awareness of environmental issues, and proposals for how to save resources in dialysis therapy. Following on from this, several national and international nephrology societies have committed themselves to a range of initiatives aiming at “greening” the kidney sector. In Japan, where water and electricity supplies currently are stable, we occasionally are reminded of the potential for shortages of water and energy and of waste disposal problems. These issues particularly come to the fore in times of disasters, when hemodialysis patients need to be evacuated to distant dialysis facilities. Irrespective of the current state of resource availability, however, continuous efforts and the establishment of resource-saving procedures as a part of Japanese culture are highly desirable and would contribute to environmentally friendly healthcare. Japan needs to build awareness of these issues before the country faces a catastrophic situation of resource shortages. This review is intended as a call to action regarding environmental sustainability in kidney healthcare in Japan and the world.

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The carbon footprints of home and in-center peritoneal dialysis in China

Cited by 29 publications

References 22 publications

Environmental footprint of regular and intensive inpatient care in a large US hospital

Environmental footprint of regular and intensive inpatient care in a large US hospital

Unexpected sequelae of the COVID-19 pandemic: A strange case of myoclonus in the Tasmanian winter

Sustainability in dialysis therapy: Japanese local and global challenge

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