We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Sustainability in Obstetrics and Gynecology
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines how the climate crisis disproportionately affects women and pregnant people through exposure to air pollution, extreme heat, and toxic substances. Researchers found that healthcare practices in obstetrics and gynecology, including operating rooms and neonatal units, also contribute to environmental harm through waste generation and carbon emissions. The study proposes strategies for decarbonizing clinical settings while improving health outcomes for vulnerable patient populations.
ABSTRACT The greatest threat to human health, otherwise known as the climate crisis, disproportionately affects women and pregnant people via exposure to air pollution, heat, extreme weather events, and toxic substances. These effects lead to increased mortality and morbidity in patient populations, but the overall role of the healthcare system and its contribution remains unknown to medical professionals. This review aims to educate clinicians on the effects of the climate crisis on health outcomes and how the current US healthcare system practices drive climate change. Solutions for decarbonizing operating rooms (ORs), neonatal intensive care units (and nurseries), and labor and delivery units are also addressed. The impact on health can be categorized by the effect of heat (rising temperatures), air pollution, and toxic substances such as microplastics. These have variously been shown to impact fertility; rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, and preterm birth; and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Notably, the healthcare industry contributes more carbon emissions than even global aviation, with the US healthcare industry producing 27% of the world’s healthcare carbon emissions through its energy and water usage, but also via the supply chain, its waste, and pharmaceuticals. Petroleum-based plastic single-use supplies (ie, gowns, instruments, drapes) in hospitals are also a major contributor to this crisis. Up to 95% of the environmental imprint of the healthcare supply chain stems from these single-use supplies. In addition, biohazard waste must be incinerated prior to landfill disposal, further adding to the environmental impact. Evidence supports the immediate impact of systemic change in terms of decarbonizing healthcare. Replacing single-use instruments with sterilized reusable ones, for instance, has a major impact, such as replacing acrylic specula with stainless steel ones. Another study indicated lower rates of surgical site infections when single-use materials were unavailable in the OR. Beyond this, many single-use supplies are never utilized for patients and go directly to waste. In addition, over carbon dioxide, inhaled anesthetics such as desflurane have 2540 times the potential for global warming while lacking noticeable benefit over other anesthetics. Instead, intravenous anesthetic use can greatly decarbonizing surgeries due to the lower carbon footprint of these medications. Finally, decreasing energy use in climate control measures within buildings can also impact the environment for the better. Powering down unused ORs saved one institution $33,000 annually. Powering down computers over weekends and on nights can also greatly reduce carbon emissions.
More Papers Like This
The climate crisis in clinical practice: Addressing air pollution, heat, and microplastics
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines how climate change-driven environmental threats including air pollution, extreme heat, and microplastics are already affecting patients in clinical settings. Researchers found that these exposures disproportionately harm vulnerable populations and that physicians need to be equipped to recognize and address the health effects of environmental degradation. The study argues that healthcare professionals have a critical role to play in both treating affected patients and advocating for policies that reduce fossil fuel-related pollution.
Our power, our planet: medicine and environmental stewardship
AI summary Read the abstract
Hospitals don't just treat illness—they also contribute to it, since healthcare systems worldwide produce more planet-warming pollution than the airline and shipping industries combined, largely from medicines, disposable supplies, and energy-hungry buildings. This matters for your health directly: pollution and extreme heat linked to this footprint are tied to risks like preterm birth and pregnancy complications, meaning a "greener" hospital can also mean a safer one. Using Singapore as a case study, this paper argues that simple changes—like swapping certain anesthesia gases, cutting medical waste, and designing climate-resilient
Environmentally sustainable critical care: Special issue introduction
AI summary Read the abstract
This editorial introduces a special issue on environmentally sustainable critical care, highlighting the healthcare sector's significant contribution to climate change, air pollution, and waste generation. The authors discuss how the triple planetary crisis of environmental degradation is both worsened by and harmful to healthcare delivery. The piece calls for urgent action to reduce the environmental footprint of medical care, including addressing single-use plastics and waste management.
Sustainability in anaesthesia and critical care: beyond carbon
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reviewed the full environmental footprint of healthcare — going beyond greenhouse gas emissions to include water pollution, toxic chemicals, and microplastics — and found that drugs like propofol and antibiotics discharged into waterways, along with massive quantities of disposable plastic equipment, pose serious ecological risks. The article calls on clinicians and policymakers to adopt holistic strategies that reduce waste, limit single-use plastics, and account for the full spectrum of environmental harm.
Single‐use materials and poorly recycled waste in intensive care: An argument for improving sustainability
AI summary Read the abstract
This article argues for improving sustainability in intensive care units by addressing the environmental impact of single-use plastics, paper, and other materials commonly used in clinical settings. The authors highlight that ICU waste is energy-intensive to produce and difficult to recycle, contributing significantly to healthcare's carbon footprint. The study calls for rethinking material choices and waste management practices in critical care to reduce plastic pollution and environmental harm.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.