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Microplastics in perioperative practice: an emerging concern for surgical safety
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This review highlights the emerging concern of microplastics in surgical environments, noting that single-use plastic equipment in operating rooms generates microplastic particles that can contaminate surgical sites and patient tissues, calling for greater awareness of MP exposure risks in perioperative settings.
Feces, lungs, placentas, and surgical sites are just a few of the human organs and environments where microplastics (MPs) are found. These are present in organs exposed to the outside world through body openings, but information is still lacking. Widespread MP exposure results from growing plastic usage in indoor air, food, and water worldwide. The use of single-use plastic equipment and the resulting production of MPs in tight areas and medical environments – especially operating rooms – present special challenges. With increased MP concentrations seen in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, new research connects MPs to biological impacts like inflammation and oxidative stress, underscoring possible health hazards. Plastic waste remains a significant environmental issue despite plastics being essential for maintaining medical sterility and preventing infections. This review highlights the need for more research on clinical consequences and methods to reduce MP exposure in healthcare settings.
More Papers Like This
Microplastics in the surgical environment
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Researchers quantified and characterized airborne microplastics in a hospital operating theatre and adjoining anaesthetic room over a one-week period. They found an average of 1,924 microplastic particles per cubic meter per day in the theatre during working hours, dominated by polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene fragments. The study provides novel data on microplastic exposure in surgical environments where single-use plastics are widely used, and no microplastics were detected during non-working hours.
P.45: Microplastic in surgery: A scoping literature review on the possible impacts posed by microplastics introduced into the body in surgery.
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This review looked at existing studies on tiny plastic particles (microplastics) that can end up in your body during surgery, shed from IV lines and catheters, floating in operating room air, or worn off from implants and stitches. Researchers found these plastic bits do show up in patient tissue after surgery, but there's still very little research on whether they actually cause harm or affect recovery. Bottom line: this is a real but understudied risk worth more attention, not yet a proven danger.
Plastics in the Perioperative Period: Deleterious Health Effects on Patients and Providers
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The plastic tools used during surgery—IV lines, breathing tubes, syringes—may shed tiny, often invisible plastic particles directly into your bloodstream and lungs, bypassing the body's normal defenses right when you're already under physical stress. This review paper points out that while we don't yet have proof these microplastics directly cause harm in humans, animal studies show potential risks, and both patients and the anesthesiologists/nurses working in operating rooms face repeated exposure. The takeaway: more research and safer plastic alternatives in healthcare settings are needed to protect everyone in the room.
Microplastics in cardiopulmonary bypass: quantification and characterization of particles across systems
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Researchers measured microplastic contamination generated by cardiopulmonary bypass machines used during heart surgery and found significant levels of plastic particles across the systems tested. The study characterized the types and quantities of microplastics produced during machine operation. The findings raise questions about patient exposure to microplastics during cardiac procedures and highlight the need for further research into whether these particles have clinical significance.
Plastic particles in medicine: A systematic review of exposure and effects to human health
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Medical plastics including bags, containers, and administration sets release micro- and nanoplastics along with chemical additives that can interact with pharmaceutical constituents, creating an understudied route of direct human exposure. Both primary exposure (during medical treatment) and secondary environmental exposure (from hospital plastic waste disposal) represent potential health hazards.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.