Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY
Volume 216, Issue 4, Pages 683-688Publisher
EXCERPTA MEDICA INC-ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.07.021
Keywords
Recycling; Repurposing; Operating room waste reduction; Global warming; Climate change; Global surgery
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Background: Climate change will affect most populations in the next decades and put the health of billions of people at risk. Health care facilities represent a significant source of pollution around the world and contribute to environmental changes. To address this topic, we performed a review of the available literature on tactics to reduce operating room (OR) waste and the potential of these strategies to impact the environment. Data Sources: A literature search was performed querying PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct. No comparative data were found; most were opinion papers, white papers, and case studies. For this reason, we proceeded with a narrative review, which provides an overview of the evidence on this topic and identifies areas for future research. Results: This systematic review summarizes the available literature on the 5 Rs of waste management: reduction, reusing, recycling, rethinking, and renewable energies. Conclusions: Surgery has a unique opportunity to transition to more environmentally-friendly operating room strategies, which may help decrease waste and lessen the impact of climate change. (c) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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