• T Marx, G Fröba, M Zwing, V Knobloch, and M Georgieff.
• Universitätsklinik für Anästhesiologie, Universität Ulm.
• Anasthesiol Intensivmed Notfallmed Schmerzther. 1997 Feb 1; 32 (2): 101-4.

PurposeDuring inhalation anaesthesia, contaminations of the working environment be anaesthetic volatiles and nitrous oxide occur. The amount of leaking gases is influenced by leakages of the anaesthetic ventilator, by fresh-gas flows and by the effectivity of the scavenging system. Since 1st January 1996 new ventilators have to be equipped with scavenging devices according to the European standard EN 740. We measured the effectivity of this system with anaesthetic ventilators of a type that is now superseded (mean leakage rate 100 ml/min) and recent devices (mean leakage rate 5 ml/min) using high and low fresh-gas flows.Material And MethodsThe anaesthetic ventilators were placed in a non-air-conditioned area. A test lung was ventilated with gas flows of 1 l/min, 3 l/min and 6 l/min (concentrations of nitrous oxide 70%, Enflurane 1%). The ventilation time in each case was 1 h. The minute volume was set to 8 l/min. At 2-minute intervals the concentrations of nitrous oxide and enflurane were measured by a multigas monitor Brüel & Kjaer 1302. The experiments were carried out with an old scavenging device according to DIN 13260 and a new device according to EN 740.ResultsUsing the scavenging device according to DIN 13260, the concentrations of the pollutant gases were significantly dependent on the fresh-gas flows. No differences were found when using old or new anaesthetic ventilators. Medians of nitrous oxide (n2o) and Enflurane (e): 6 l/min: (n2o) 204 ppm (e) 4.3 ppm 3 l/min: (n2o) 115 ppm (e) 2.1 ppm 1 l/min: (n2o) 61 ppm (e) 0.97 ppm. Scavenging devices according to EN 740 significantly reduced the amount of emitted pollutants. No dependency on fresh-gas flows could be detected. 6 l/min: (n2o) 11.25 ppm (e) 0.05 ppm 3 l/min: (n2o) 10.12 ppm (e) 0.0 ppm 1 l/min: (n2o) 9.5 ppm (e) 0.0 ppm.ConclusionsThe formerly reported dependence of the room air concentrations of anaesthetic volatiles and nitrous oxide from the fresh gas flow are caused by the spillage of pollutants through scavenging devices according to DIN 13260. The use of systems according to EN 740 is not only useful in new devices but must also be recommended for superseded models of anaesthetic ventilators.

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