Financial implications of intravenous anesthetic drug wastage in operation room

Abstract

Background and Objectives:Anesthetic drugs and material wastage are common in operation rooms (ORs). In this era of escalating health-care expenditure, cost reduction strategies are highly relevant. The aim of this study was to assess the amount of daily intravenous anesthetic drug wastage from major ORs and to estimate its financial burden. Any preventive measures to minimize drug wastage are also looked for.Methods:It was a prospective study conducted at the major ORs of a tertiary care hospital after getting the Institutional Research Committee approval. The total amount of all drugs wasted at the end of a surgical day from each major OR was audited for five nonconsecutive weeks. Drug wasted includes the drugs leftover in the syringes unutilized and opened vials/ampoules. The total cost of the wasted drugs and average daily loss were estimated.Results:The drugs wasted in large quantities included propofol, thiopentone sodium, vecuronium, mephentermine, lignocaine, midazolam, atropine, succinylcholine, and atracurium in that order. The total cost of the wasted drugs during the study period was Rs. 59,631.49, and the average daily loss was Rs. 1987.67. The average daily cost of wasted drug was maximum for vecuronium (Rs. 699.93) followed by propofol (Rs. 662.26).Interpretation and Conclusions:Financial implications of anesthetic drug wastage can be significant. Propofol and vecuronium contributed maximum to the financial burden. Suggestions for preventive measures to minimize the wastage include education of staff and residents about the cost of drugs, emphasizing on the judicial use of costly drugs.

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“…In addition, the use of drugs in anesthesia creates a great cost. At this point, cost effectiveness can be achieved by reducing the doses of the drugs (29). In our study, the consumption of the inhalation agentwhich attracts attention with its increasing price and the consumption of opioids-which have relatively side effects and which increased the cost due to the subsequent abuse, were found to be lower.…”

The Wastage and Economic Effects of Anaesthetic Drugs and Consumables in the Operating Room

“…Atropine and ephedrine accounted for 12% and 2.1% of wastage of at the end of the workday total cost loss in this study. In previous studies, significant wastage was reported for atropine and ephedrine ( 2 , 9 ). In each operating room, ephedrine 50 mg and atropine 1 mg were routinely prepared as emergency drugs.…”

“…In this study, rocuronium (29.95%) caused the most cost loss. In another study, vecuronium (35.21%) caused the most financial loss ( 2 ). This loss can be reduced by appropriate use of neuromuscular blockers, assessment of the degree of blockage and loading of only the required amount.…”

“…The sample size was calculated based on the study time as in previous studies ( 2 , 5 ). Descriptive statistics were made for demographic data using the SPSS program for Windows Version 20.0 statistical package (IBM SPSS Corp.; Armonk, NY, USA) and presented as number and median (interquartile range) according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.…”

“…The main concern in the field of anaesthesia is the wastage of drugs and consumables. Possible changes in the individual response of patients, unused drugs and opened ampoules and vials because of sterility concerns make some amount of drug wastage unavoidable in anaesthesia ( 2 ). However, it still constitutes a common target in terms of the reduction of operating costs and cost-reduction approaches ( 3 ).…”