Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Molecular mechanisms of acidosis-mediated damage

The present article is concerned with mechanisms which are responsible for the exaggerated brain damage observed in hyperglycemic animals subjected to transient global or forebrain ischemia. Since hyperglycemia enchances the production of lactate plus H+ during ischemia, it seems likely that aggravation of damage is due to exaggerated intra- and extracellular acidosis. This contention is supported by results showing a detrimental effect of extreme hypercapnia in normoglycemic rats subjected to transient ischemia or to hypoglycemic coma. Enhanced acidosis may exaggerate ischemic damage by one of three mechanisms: (i) accelerating free radical production via H(+)-dependent reactions, some of which are catalyzed by iron released from protein bindings by a lowering of pH, (ii) by perturbing the intracellular signal transduction pathway, leading to changes in gene expression or protein synthesis, or (iii) by activating endonucleases which cause DNA fragmentation. While activation of endonucleases must affect the nucleus, the targets of free radical attack are not known. Microvessels are considered likely targets of such attack in sustained ischemia and in trauma; however, enhanced acidosis is not known to aggravate microvascular dysfunction, or to induce inflammatory responses at the endothelial-blood interface. A more likely target is the mitochondrion. Thus, if the ischemia is of long duration (30 min) hyperglycemia triggers rapidly developing mitochondrial failure. It is speculated that this is because free radicals damage components of the respiratory chain, leading to a secondary deterioration of oxidative phosphorylation