Exposure of operating room personnel to anaesthetic agents: an examination of the effectiveness of scavenging systems and the importance of maintenance programs.

Ten Alberta hospitals were monitored to assess the exposure of operating room personnel to nitrous oxide, halothane and enflurane during the average work day. Exposure to these agents in operating rooms without scavenging systems was determined to be well above the recommended guidelines. Contaminants were significantly lower in operating rooms with scavenging systems of either the wall suction type or the air-conditioning exhaust type. In the majority of studies, leakage points of anaesthetic gases were found throughout the anaesthesia systems. Where maintenance programs for the anaesthesia equipment were designed for the detection and elimination of leakage, contaminant levels were significantly lower than in those hospitals where the maintenance programs were concerned solely with proper equipment function as it relates to patient care. A regular, frequent maintenance program for all anaesthesia and scavenging systems designed to identify and correct leakage points is therefore recommended. We consider a nitrous oxide monitor to be the ideal tool for detection of leakage.