Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen; Henrik Grüttner

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11

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Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen, Henrik Grüttner

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 7, Issue 4)

Received: 17 August 2018 Accepted: 19 October 2018 Published: 15 November 2018

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Abstract

The introduction of single-use alternatives has stressed the need for environmental comparisons between reusable and single-use devises in the healthcare sector. Discarding of single-use devices intuitively causes concern among staff in hospitals, other users and people with environmental concerns as to whether the single use is environmentally friendly. This study aims to compare carbon dioxide (CO₂)-equivalent emissions and resource consumption from a single-use bronchoscope (Ambu^® aScope^TM 4) to a reusable flexible bronchoscope. The comparison is made using a simplified life-cycle-assessment methodology. The analysis shows that the materials used for the cleaning operations of the reusable scopes are a key factor affecting the impact factors assessed; energy consumption, emission of CO₂-equivalent and consumption of scarce resources. Initially, it is assumed that each reusable scope is cleaned using one set of personal protective equipment (PPE) per cleaning operation, but since cleaning practice may vary the consequence of cleaning more scopes with one set of PPE is also assessed. Using one set of protective wear per operation and the materials for cleaning and disinfection determine that reusable scopes have comparable or higher material and energy consumption as well as higher emissions of CO₂-equivalents and values of resource consumption. Cleaning two or more reusable scopes per set of PPE makes the impacts fairly comparable. Other aspects that may impact the results are also assessed, including energy consumption for washing and drying units, differences in use of PPE and differences in the disposal of PPE or single-use scopes. As the three assessed parameters are highly dependent on cleaning procedures and the use of protective equipment, it cannot be concluded from these results which type of bronchoscope affects the environmental factors investigated here the most.

Published in	American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 7, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11
Page(s)	55-62
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Flexible Bronchoscopy, Single-Use Versus Reusable, Energy, Carbon Footprint, Scarce Resources

References

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[13]	D. Gupta and H. Wang, "Cost-effectiveness analysis of flexible optical scopes for tracheal intubation: a descriptive comparative study of reusable and single-use scopes," Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, pp. 632-635, 2009.
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APA Style

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen, Henrik Grüttner. (2018). Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 7(4), 55-62. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11

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ACS Style

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen; Henrik Grüttner. Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2018, 7(4), 55-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11

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AMA Style

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen, Henrik Grüttner. Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes. Am J Environ Prot. 2018;7(4):55-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11,
  author = {Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen and Henrik Grüttner},
  title = {Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes},
  journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
  volume = {7},
  number = {4},
  pages = {55-62},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20180704.11},
  abstract = {The introduction of single-use alternatives has stressed the need for environmental comparisons between reusable and single-use devises in the healthcare sector. Discarding of single-use devices intuitively causes concern among staff in hospitals, other users and people with environmental concerns as to whether the single use is environmentally friendly. This study aims to compare carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalent emissions and resource consumption from a single-use bronchoscope (Ambu® aScopeTM 4) to a reusable flexible bronchoscope. The comparison is made using a simplified life-cycle-assessment methodology. The analysis shows that the materials used for the cleaning operations of the reusable scopes are a key factor affecting the impact factors assessed; energy consumption, emission of CO2-equivalent and consumption of scarce resources. Initially, it is assumed that each reusable scope is cleaned using one set of personal protective equipment (PPE) per cleaning operation, but since cleaning practice may vary the consequence of cleaning more scopes with one set of PPE is also assessed. Using one set of protective wear per operation and the materials for cleaning and disinfection determine that reusable scopes have comparable or higher material and energy consumption as well as higher emissions of CO2-equivalents and values of resource consumption. Cleaning two or more reusable scopes per set of PPE makes the impacts fairly comparable. Other aspects that may impact the results are also assessed, including energy consumption for washing and drying units, differences in use of PPE and differences in the disposal of PPE or single-use scopes. As the three assessed parameters are highly dependent on cleaning procedures and the use of protective equipment, it cannot be concluded from these results which type of bronchoscope affects the environmental factors investigated here the most.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes
AU  - Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen
AU  - Henrik Grüttner
Y1  - 2018/11/15
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11
T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
SP  - 55
EP  - 62
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5699
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11
AB  - The introduction of single-use alternatives has stressed the need for environmental comparisons between reusable and single-use devises in the healthcare sector. Discarding of single-use devices intuitively causes concern among staff in hospitals, other users and people with environmental concerns as to whether the single use is environmentally friendly. This study aims to compare carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalent emissions and resource consumption from a single-use bronchoscope (Ambu® aScopeTM 4) to a reusable flexible bronchoscope. The comparison is made using a simplified life-cycle-assessment methodology. The analysis shows that the materials used for the cleaning operations of the reusable scopes are a key factor affecting the impact factors assessed; energy consumption, emission of CO2-equivalent and consumption of scarce resources. Initially, it is assumed that each reusable scope is cleaned using one set of personal protective equipment (PPE) per cleaning operation, but since cleaning practice may vary the consequence of cleaning more scopes with one set of PPE is also assessed. Using one set of protective wear per operation and the materials for cleaning and disinfection determine that reusable scopes have comparable or higher material and energy consumption as well as higher emissions of CO2-equivalents and values of resource consumption. Cleaning two or more reusable scopes per set of PPE makes the impacts fairly comparable. Other aspects that may impact the results are also assessed, including energy consumption for washing and drying units, differences in use of PPE and differences in the disposal of PPE or single-use scopes. As the three assessed parameters are highly dependent on cleaning procedures and the use of protective equipment, it cannot be concluded from these results which type of bronchoscope affects the environmental factors investigated here the most.
VL  - 7
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen
Henrik Grüttner

Centre for Life Cycle Engineering, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

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APA Style

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen, Henrik Grüttner. (2018). Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 7(4), 55-62. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11

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ACS Style

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen; Henrik Grüttner. Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2018, 7(4), 55-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11

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AMA Style

Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen, Henrik Grüttner. Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes. Am J Environ Prot. 2018;7(4):55-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11,
  author = {Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen and Henrik Grüttner},
  title = {Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes},
  journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
  volume = {7},
  number = {4},
  pages = {55-62},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20180704.11},
  abstract = {The introduction of single-use alternatives has stressed the need for environmental comparisons between reusable and single-use devises in the healthcare sector. Discarding of single-use devices intuitively causes concern among staff in hospitals, other users and people with environmental concerns as to whether the single use is environmentally friendly. This study aims to compare carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalent emissions and resource consumption from a single-use bronchoscope (Ambu® aScopeTM 4) to a reusable flexible bronchoscope. The comparison is made using a simplified life-cycle-assessment methodology. The analysis shows that the materials used for the cleaning operations of the reusable scopes are a key factor affecting the impact factors assessed; energy consumption, emission of CO2-equivalent and consumption of scarce resources. Initially, it is assumed that each reusable scope is cleaned using one set of personal protective equipment (PPE) per cleaning operation, but since cleaning practice may vary the consequence of cleaning more scopes with one set of PPE is also assessed. Using one set of protective wear per operation and the materials for cleaning and disinfection determine that reusable scopes have comparable or higher material and energy consumption as well as higher emissions of CO2-equivalents and values of resource consumption. Cleaning two or more reusable scopes per set of PPE makes the impacts fairly comparable. Other aspects that may impact the results are also assessed, including energy consumption for washing and drying units, differences in use of PPE and differences in the disposal of PPE or single-use scopes. As the three assessed parameters are highly dependent on cleaning procedures and the use of protective equipment, it cannot be concluded from these results which type of bronchoscope affects the environmental factors investigated here the most.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes
AU  - Birgitte Lilholt Sørensen
AU  - Henrik Grüttner
Y1  - 2018/11/15
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11
T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
SP  - 55
EP  - 62
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5699
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20180704.11
AB  - The introduction of single-use alternatives has stressed the need for environmental comparisons between reusable and single-use devises in the healthcare sector. Discarding of single-use devices intuitively causes concern among staff in hospitals, other users and people with environmental concerns as to whether the single use is environmentally friendly. This study aims to compare carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalent emissions and resource consumption from a single-use bronchoscope (Ambu® aScopeTM 4) to a reusable flexible bronchoscope. The comparison is made using a simplified life-cycle-assessment methodology. The analysis shows that the materials used for the cleaning operations of the reusable scopes are a key factor affecting the impact factors assessed; energy consumption, emission of CO2-equivalent and consumption of scarce resources. Initially, it is assumed that each reusable scope is cleaned using one set of personal protective equipment (PPE) per cleaning operation, but since cleaning practice may vary the consequence of cleaning more scopes with one set of PPE is also assessed. Using one set of protective wear per operation and the materials for cleaning and disinfection determine that reusable scopes have comparable or higher material and energy consumption as well as higher emissions of CO2-equivalents and values of resource consumption. Cleaning two or more reusable scopes per set of PPE makes the impacts fairly comparable. Other aspects that may impact the results are also assessed, including energy consumption for washing and drying units, differences in use of PPE and differences in the disposal of PPE or single-use scopes. As the three assessed parameters are highly dependent on cleaning procedures and the use of protective equipment, it cannot be concluded from these results which type of bronchoscope affects the environmental factors investigated here the most.
VL  - 7
IS  - 4
ER  -

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