Original Title: Utstyr for oppsamling av anestesigasser. Oppsummering av en metodevurdering fra Scottish Health Technologies Group: metodevurdering uten innsendt dokumentasjon

Authors' objectives: Sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane are anesthetic gases used in Norwegian hospitals to ensure that patients don’t feel pain during examination or surgery. These gases are also greenhouse gases that trap heat energy on Earth, potentially contributing to global warming and climate change, with desflurane having the largest potential impact. Equipment designed to capture and recycle anesthetic gas exhaled by patients in operating theatres and anesthetic rooms is referred to as volatile gas capture technology (VCT). The Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) has conducted a health technology assessment (HTA) of VCTs for NHS Scotland, which was published in May 2024. The literature search was conducted in October 2023. The purpose of our report is to summarize the findings from the Scottish HTA, as well as describe ongoing research and national initiatives in this area. Additionally, we have included the costs associated with using this method in Norwegian hospitals.

Authors' results and conclusions: The authors of the Scottish report conducted a literature search and found four studies that looked at how effective different VCTs are at capturing anesthetic gas. All the studies were small and were only published as letters to various journals. The results suggested that: - The amount of gas captured was significantly lower in clinical studies compared to bench studies. - There is a lack of life cycle assessments of VCT that reflect capture effect in clinical use and current practices regarding the disposal of waste gas. - There is uncertainty about whether volatile anesthetic gases contribute to any climate change at current atmospheric concentrations. Norwegian hospitals have significantly reduced their use of desflurane over the past five years. Four Norwegian hospitals currently use the VCT CONTRAFluranTM to capture anesthetic gases, but recycling is not possible due to waste management regulations. Installing and using the equipment is relatively simple and does not require much training. However, introducing the method will lead to increased costs for the healthcare sector. The investment cost is NOK xxxxxx per unit. Additionally, maintenance and consumables cost approximately NOK xxxxxx annually (2024 prices). It is unclear how many surgical procedures using anesthetic gas are performed in Norway each year, so the total cost of introducing VCT in the Norwegian healthcare system has not been calculated.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.nyemetoder.no/metoder/id2024_034/

Year Published: 2025

URL for published report: https://www.dmp.no/contentassets/68facb7a6e27464f9140174cb55503e1/id2024_034-utstyr-for-oppsamling-av-anestesigasser.pdf

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Norway

Organisation Name: Norwegian Medical Products Agency

Contact Address: PO Box 240 Skøyen, N-0213 Skøyen

Contact Name: Elisabet Hafstad

Contact Email: post@noma.no