Evaluation of genetic damage in operating room personnel exposed to anaesthetic gases.

Information on potential genetic damage in humans after exposure to waste anaesthetic gases in Indian hospitals is scarce. To evaluate the possible genotoxic effects of waste anaesthetic gases, the chromosomal aberrations analysis and comet assay were studied in peripheral blood lymphocytes in 45 operating room personnel currently employed at a hospital in South India. In addition, the micronucleus test on buccal epithelial cells was also carried out in the same subjects. The exposed group was compared with a group of 45 non-exposed group, matched by age, sex, alcohol consumption and smoking habits. The results showed a statistically significant increase in DNA damage by the comet assay in the exposed group. Chromosome aberrations and micronucleus frequencies also increased significantly in the study subjects in comparison to the controls. Analysis of variance showed that smoking had a significant effect on DNA mean tail length, whereas alcohol consumption, duration of exposure to anaesthetic agents, age and gender had no significant effect. All the confounding factors had significant effect by the micronucleus test. However, smoking, alcohol consumption, age, gender and years of exposure showed no significant effect by the chromosome aberrations test. The results of our study suggest that exposure to waste anaesthetic gases has the potential to cause changes in the human genome.