We wish to add to this important article (1), which highlights an aspect of the ecological implications of anesthesia that—in contrast to climate damage as a result of volatile anesthetics (2)—has received little attention to date, using our own data from the anesthesia machine Heinen & Löwenstein Leon plus neo (version 3.5.21) that is mostly in use in our hospital. In three measurements/readings (measuring device: Tevion GT-PM-04), the following readings were obtained in terms of power consumption (active power P=U*I*cos φ, mean ± standard deviation): when switched off 2.6±0.90 watt (w), while booting up 69.0±0.8 w, standby 68.7±0.6 w, while operational 81.2±3.4 w. As for the Dräger machines, the power consumption was high in standby mode, which is hardly any lower than while operational. These insights, combined with short booting up times (62 seconds) without any additional need for power clarify that only switching the machines off completely outside operational periods saves power to a relevant degree. Reducing the ecological effects of anesthesia should not be restricted to saving volatile anesthetics—especially desflurane—but needs to be multimodal (3).
References
- 1.Anselm F, Schick MA. The energy-saving potential of medical devices—anesthesia machines as an example. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 20221;19:743–744. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.m2022.0279. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Drinhaus H, Schumacher C. [Inhalation anesthetics: consider ecological aspects!] Anaesthesist. 2021;70:340–341. doi: 10.1007/s00101-021-00927-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Schuster M, Richter H, Pecher S, Koch S, Coburn M. Positionspapier mit konkreten Handlungsempfehlungen: Ökologische Nachhaltigkeit in der Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin. Anästh Intensivmed. 2020;61:329–339. [Google Scholar]