Here are four things to know about the recent breakthrough:
1. Anesthesiologists and intensive care staff at the Charité Medical System in Berlin, Germany, reduced carbon emissions from anesthetic gases by more than 80% between 2018 and 2023 after halting the use of desflurane, a carbon-emitting anesthetic gas, according to a study published Feb. 25 in Anesthesia & Analgesia.
2. The study highlights the use of injected agents such as propofol in frontal electroencephalography as an alternative to desflurane.
3. In 2018, Charité produced an estimated 6,792 tons of carbon dioxide from anesthesia, a figure that fell to 1,454 tons in 2023 after cutting off the use of desflurane the same year and substituting propofol.
4. Susanne Koch, MD, a lecturer and anesthesiologist at Charité, wants to issue guidelines that discourage the use of desflurane across Europe.
