A Survey on Use of Nitrous Oxide in Current Anaesthetic Practice in India

Abstract

In anaesthetic practice, exposure to a hazardous substance should be eliminated or controlled where practicable. Over the past few years, the use of nitrous oxide has become debatable. To assess the current anaesthetic practice in India on the use of nitrous oxide, a total of 400 questionnaires constituted by 15 questions on three topics- use of nitrous oxide, medical air and TIVA(total intravenous anaesthesia)- were distributed. Anaesthesiologists were selected randomly and requested to fill up the questionnaire. Of the 400 questionnaires, 40 questionnaires were discarded due to incomplete answer, leaving a total of 360 valid returned questionnaires, a 90% response rate. 27.22% respondents stated that the use of nitrous oxide had decreased .When medical air was available, 66.67% felt that they would use it frequently. A total of 214 (59.44%) stated that they used total intravenous anaesthesia occasionally. The results showed that although anaesthesiologists had reduced their use of nitrous oxide, this was due to medical considerations rather than concerns over health and pollution issues arising from the use of nitrous oxide.

Keywords

• Nitrous oxide
• Occupational hazard
• Anaesthesiologists
• Questionnaire survey