Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (17)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Langbein, T.
Right arrow Articles by Zellner, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Langbein, T.
Right arrow Articles by Zellner, R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

British Journal of Anaesthesia, Vol 82, Issue 1 66-73, Copyright © 1999 by The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS

Volatile anaesthetics and the atmosphere: atmospheric lifetimes and atmospheric effects of halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, desflurane and sevoflurane

T. Langbein, H. Sonntag, D. Trapp, A. Hoffmann, W. Malms, E. P. Roth, V. Mors and R. Zellner
Department of Anaesthesia, Georg-August-Universitat, D-37075 Gottingen, Germany; Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Universitat-GH-Essen, Germany

The atmospheric lifetimes of the halogenated anaesthetics halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, desflurane and sevoflurane with respect to reaction with the hydroxyl radical (OH.) and UV photolysis have been determined from observations of OH. reaction kinetics and UV absorption spectra. Rate coefficients for the reaction with OH radicals for all halogenated anaesthetics investigated ranged from 0.44 to 2.7 x 10(-14) cm3 molec-1 s-1. Halothane, enflurane and isoflurane showed distinct UV absorption in the range 200-350 nm. In contrast, no absorption in this wavelength range was detected for desflurane or sevoflurane. The total atmospheric lifetimes, as derived from both OH. reactivity and photolysis, were 4.0-21.4 yr. It has been calculated that up to 20% of anaesthetics enter the stratosphere. As a result of chlorine and bromine content, the ozone depletion potential (ODP) relative to chlorofluorocarbon CFC-11 varies between 0 and 1.56, leading to a contribution to the total ozone depletion in the stratosphere of approximately 1% for halothane and 0.02% for enflurane and isoflurane. Estimates of the greenhouse warming potential (GWP) relative to CFC-12 yield values of 0.02-0.14, resulting in a relative contribution to global warming of all volatile anaesthetics of approximately 0.03%. The stratospheric impact of halothane, isoflurane and enflurane and their influence on ozone depletion is of increasing importance because of decreasing chlorofluorocarbons globally. However, the influence of volatile anaesthetics on greenhouse warming is small.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
T. J. Sieber, C. W. Frei, M. Derighetti, P. Feigenwinter, D. Leibundgut, and A. M. Zbinden
Model-based automatic feedback control versus human control of end-tidal isoflurane concentration using low-flow anaesthesia
Br. J. Anaesth., December 1, 2000; 85(6): 818 - 825.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.