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538 Life Cycle Analysis of a Single Use Laryngoscope – A Target to Reduce Operating Room Environmental Impact

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2024

Alison J Lehane
Affiliation:
Northwestern Quality Improvement, Research & Education in Surgery (NQUIRES), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Gwyneth A. Sullivan
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Rush University Medical Center
Jennifer B. Dunn
Affiliation:
Director, Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience, Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering
Mallory Perez
Affiliation:
Northwestern Quality Improvement, Research & Education in Surgery (NQUIRES), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Charesa Smith
Affiliation:
Northwestern Quality Improvement, Research & Education in Surgery (NQUIRES), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Rick Dsida
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesia, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Mehul V. Raval
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
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Abstract

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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Health care accounts for an estimated 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Concerted efforts to decrease waste are needed including critical appraisal of single use items. The purpose of this study was to conduct life cycle analyses (LCA) of a pediatric single use laryngoscope to inform environmental impact and identify targets to reduce waste. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: LCA was used to quantify the environmental impact of a single use pediatric laryngoscope. LCA is an industry standard measure of energy consumption, water consumption, and GHG emissions encompassing a “cradle-to-grave” assessment. The GREET model (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy use in Technologies) and Open LCA model were used as sources for product/raw material data. Separate analysis was completed for the battery powering the light emitting diode (LED) lights. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The LCA revealed 598.2 g of CO2 equivalents for the 121g single use pediatric laryngoscope. There were an estimated 26,849 cases that used single use laryngoscope last year at our free-standing children’s hospital resulting in 16.1 metric tons of CO2 equivalents. This is equivalent to 41,273 miles driven by an average gasoline powered vehicle. The 1.5 V battery was the highest contributor to the laryngoscope’s GHG emissions. While the battery has an estimated 2,800 hours of life, single use laryngoscopes are reported in the literature as being used for only an average of 30 seconds to 2 minutes. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Single use laryngoscopes are high contributors to GHGs. Specifically, the batteries contained in the laryngoscopes are wasteful and challenging to remove and recycle. Future efforts to decrease waste in the OR should target use of similar items that have reusable battery components to improve environmental sustainability.

Type
Science Policy and Advocacy
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science