50th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting

A life cycle assessment of a peripheral nerve block premade pack:

How far has that syringe travelled?

E.B. Fouts-Palmer MD1, Deirdre Kelleher MD1, Rakesh Sondekoppam MD2, Timur Ozelsel MD3, Vivian Ip MD4

Introduction:

•Climate change and environmental pollution is a significant global public health threat (1).

•Disposal of single-use medical equipment represents a source of environmental harm (2).

•Operating rooms are estimated to produce a quarter of all the trash generated in a typical hospital, with up to 30% of this waste attributed to anesthesia care (3).

Scope of study:

Disposable used to set up for one single-injection ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block with a stimulating needle, with 30 mL local anesthetic used in the nerve block and 3 mL to anesthetize the skin.

NOT within scope:

Local anesthetic medications

Ultrasound use

Operating room time

Energy consumed in the facility

Sedation equipment and medications

About two thirds of the 213.88g of disposable materials used in each peripheral nerve block is composed of various types of plastics.

Discussion

•A single premade pack for peripheral nerve block requires a supply chain with global reach. (1,780 kg∙km total shipping)

•This preliminary lifecycle inventory illustrates the disproportionate use of disposable plastics in healthcare.

Next steps:

Our multicenter team is working to expand this preliminary lifecycle inventory into a complete cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis to compare the environmental impact of regional anesthesia with and without premade packs.

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50th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting

A LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF A SINGLE INJECTION PERIPHERAL NERVE BLOCK PREMADE PACK

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