Transcription:
There’s nothing crazy about climate pollution caused by laughing gas (an anesthetic technically known as nitrous oxide).
GOLDEN: “Nitrous oxide is a very powerful greenhouse gas.”
Leonard Golden is chief of anesthesiology at Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Hospital in the Bronx.
He said nitrous oxide has been used in hospitals for more than a century. It is often piped from a central tank to the operating room.
But a lot bleeds out along the way.
Golden: “In reality, a large amount or a large portion of the gas leaks out before it passes through the pipeline and reaches the patient.”
So his hospital and two other hospitals in the same health network eliminated centrally piped nitrous oxide.
Sudhir Jain, chief of anesthesiology at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital, said doctors have access to portable anesthesia tanks if needed. but …
Jayne: “With advances in pharmacology and the availability of other drugs, we may not need to use this particular gas as much as we used to.”
Doctors say the changes will reduce climate pollution without compromising patient care.
Jayne: “I hope our example shows others that this is possible.”
Report credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
