Increasing Providers Awareness of Waste Anesthetic Gases Exposure in the Post-Anesthetic Care Unit: An Educational Module

This quality improvement project aims to increase the providers\u27 knowledge based on the current literature, the potential dangers of WAGs exposure, and ways providers can reduce exposure levels. Background: The OR\u27s concentration, effects, and reduction strategies are well addressed. Nevertheless, studies that address the exposure of WAGs in perioperative providers in the PACU are limited. Methods: An in-depth inquiry was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, and MEDLINE, to withdraw studies from 2014 to 2021 related to the PICOT question, of which 8 articles were appraised. Then, an invitation of CRNAs solely to partake in a pre-test survey, followed by the educational module implementation and a post-test survey. Statistical analysis was applied to assess the impact of the educational intervention. Results: There was a 60% increase in knowledge for the organization responsible for setting exposure limits to WAGs, also a 20% to 30% increase in the participant\u27s ability to distinguish between the short- and long-term effects of WAGs exposure. Seventy percent of participants identified at-risk providers to WAG exposure. Finally, all participants knew that chronic WAGs had been linked to short- and long-term effects. Discussion: There was increased knowledge regarding WAG exposure, adverse effects, and practices that reduce its exposure. Considering the limitations of the project and little research focused on mitigating WAGs exposure in the PACU, further research is needed. Limitations include the sample size of 10 participants and the virtual delivery of the educational module