Association of anesthetic toxic isoflurane gases of the indoor air of operating room, Ahvaz, Iran during 2016

Operating rooms (ORs) in hospital wards are very important because of special conditions of
patients. The hazards of contact with low concentrations of anesthetic gases (AG) are
undeniable. Nowadays AG isoflurane is one of the important pollutants which is in the air of
ORs and used in anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of anesthetic
toxic isoflurane gases of the indoor air of Razi, Golestan and Emam educational hospitals ORs,
using active sampling system during 2016. In this study, in order to sampling and detection
of isoflurane concentration (ppm), a portable pump (SKC pump) and tubes (Sorbent Tube
Tenax TA 250 mg) were utilized. The sampling was done in three different points of the ORs.
According to this study, the ‘‘Razi’’ and ‘‘Emam’’ hospitals had the highest and the lowest
isoflurane concentrations. According to the results of this study, isoflurane concentrations in
three main educational hospital ORs affiliated to the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of medical
sciences were 2.342, 2.15 and 2.04 ppm, respectively. According to this study, the average
concentration of isoflurane in three main educational hospitals was more than recommended
scales by international organizations (2 ppm) and it sounds that exposure to this amount of gas
would be the cause of health disorders for staff. The results showed that the mean of isoflurane
concentration in different parts of ORs with standard ventilation system was significantly lower
than those ORs in which they did not have standard ventilation. While environmental health
management and AG contamination in ORs have been ignored, they can cause disorders in
ORs’ staffs and causing more spiritual and material costs.