title: [Air and biomonitoring of occupational exposure to anesthetic gases in the health care workers of a large hospital in Milan].
abstract: In this study exposure to anesthetic gases in health care workers of a hospital of Milan was investigated. The evaluation focused on the period 2007-2010 and was performed by environmental monitoring (20 operating rooms and 54 samples) and biological monitoring (180 workers and 242 urine samples). Mean airborne exposure was 3:15 and 0.34 ppm for nitrogen protoxide (N2O) and sevorane; in end-of-exposure urine samples the concentration of N2O and hexafluoroisopropanol, metabolite of sevorane, were 4.85 mg/L and 0.21 mg/L, with 80 and 21% of values below the quantification limit. Sevorane monitoring exceeded or equaled the environmental limit value of 0.5 ppm and the biological exposure index in 17 and 11% of measures. There were no observed exceedances of the limit for N2O. The anesthetist and scrub nurse were tasks with greater exposure. There was a significant correlation between airborne halogenated gases and urinary hexafluoroisopropanol. The results of this study indicates that further efforts are needed to improve the hygienic conditions in the investigated hospital.
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e di Comunità, University degli Studi di Milano e Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Via S. Barnaba, 8 -20122 Milano. silvia.fustinoni@unimi.it
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Fustinoni
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Pasini
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Strangi
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Valla
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Missineo
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Margonari
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Denaro
authors: P A
authors: PA
authors: Bertazzi
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D010564:Personnel, Hospital
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation