Anesthetic gases as an occupational hazard--a review.

Operating room nursing and lung cancer risk in a cohort of female registered nurses

“…Another limitation of this analysis is the unavailability of information on each nurse's exposure to exhaled anesthetic gases and other potentially hazardous substances in the operating room. Although epidemiologic studies of the cancer risk of health professionals exposed to anesthetic gases have been inconsistent, there is evidence of a mutagenic effect of certain chemicals used as anesthetics prior to 1980 (33)(34)(35).…”

Inhalation anesthetics, anticancer drugs and sterilants as chemical hazards in hospitals.

“…Since then, many different chemicals have been used as inhalation anesthetic agents. Although the possible health hazards of occupational exposure to anesthetic agents have only recently aroused interest [see the reports of Edling (22) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (65)], more attention has been paid to the physicochemical properties of such anesthetic agents.…”

“…Since the potential health hazards of inhalation anesthetics have been recently summarized (22,65), I will not give an exhaustive literature review. However, I will discuss those adverse health hazards that are the most important from the point of view of occupational exposure.…”

“…Thus they also have the potential to cause chronic toxic effects in the central nervous system. Some of the recent evidence for the neurotoxicity of anesthetic agents has been given in a review by Edling (22). The central issue is an almost complete lack of studies on the chronic neurotoxic effects produced after many years of exposure to anesthetic gases.…”

Effects of trace levels of nitrous oxide on psychomotor performance.

“…During the last ten years, several studies have shown different health hazards for operating theater personnel (10). In the setting of hygienic standards or other hygiene control limits, the level at which nitrous oxide causes a decrement in performance has been the subject of much debate.…”