Getinge’s Innovation Can Help Hospitals Lower Anesthetic Waste

According to a newly released study in the Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing, the unique Automatic Gas Control (AGC) in Getinge’s anesthesia machine Flow-i, lowers sevoflurane wastage by up to 58 percent; a sustainable and economic approach without compromising patient safety.¹
 
Combatting climate change requires actions from both individuals and organizations worldwide. One of the areas where Getinge has made significant progress in contributing to more sustainable health care is anesthesia.
 
“Global emissions of fluorinated volatile anesthetics in 2014 equaled three million tons of CO2. Given the strong heat-trapping potency of volatile anesthetics, anesthetists have an important responsibility in this regard”¹, says associate professor Alain Kalmar, clinical anesthetist at AZ Sint-Jan Brugge-Oostende, Belgium, and one of the researchers behind the new study.
 
A few years back, Getinge launched a unique AGC technology for the Flow-i anesthesia machine to support anesthetists further. When patients are at their most vulnerable, AGC brings visibility, control and precision to provide low- and minimal-flow anesthesia.²
 
“Safe, cost-effective and convenient, AGC is engineered to improve forecasting and control of anesthetic agents during the induction and emergence of anesthesia. Simple pre-settings gives high precision, improved comfort and increased safety. With minimal agent consumption hospitals can save costs and reduce the environmental footprint,” says Mikael Petrini, global clinical application specialist at Getinge.
 
The new study backs this up by indicating that the AGC technology permits very significant economic and ecological benefits, combined with excellent stability and convenience.¹
 
“It is abundantly clear that on a hospital or society level the investment in automated systems generously pays off. On an ecological level, it should be emphasized that the patient receives the same level of anesthesia, with even increased safety, but with a lower cost for both society and the biosphere,” says Kalmar.
 
He continues: “Based on our findings, we recommend that routine clinical practice using low flow anaesthesia should be abandoned, and that all anaesthesia machines are upgraded as soon as possible with automatic delivery technology.”¹
 
References:
¹ Kalmar A. et al. Minimizing sevoflurane wastage by sensible use of automated gas control technology in the flow-i workstation: an economic and ecological assessment. J Clin Monit Comput. 2022 Jan 3. doi: 10.1007/s10877-021-00803-z.
² Carette R, De Wolfe A.M, Hendrickx J.F.A. Automated gas control with the Maquet FLOW-i. J Clin Monit Comput. 2016 Jun;30(3):341-6.