Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint
Background/Aims: Although gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of national healthcare, the amount of medical waste generated by GIE procedures is not reported in South Korea. This study aimed to measure the amount of medical waste generated from GIE procedu...
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| Format: | Article |
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Gastroenterology Council for Gut and Liver
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Gut and Liver |
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| Online Access: | http://gutnliver.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.5009/gnl240209 |
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| author | Da Hyun Jung Hyun Jung Lee Tae Joo Jeon Young Sin Cho Bo Ra Kang Nae Sun Youn Jae Myung Cha |
| author_facet | Da Hyun Jung Hyun Jung Lee Tae Joo Jeon Young Sin Cho Bo Ra Kang Nae Sun Youn Jae Myung Cha |
| author_sort | Da Hyun Jung |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Aims: Although gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of national healthcare, the amount of medical waste generated by GIE procedures is not reported in South Korea. This study aimed to measure the amount of medical waste generated from GIE procedures in South Korea. Methods: We conducted a 5-day audit of medical waste generated during GIEs at seven hospitals. During the study period, medical waste in the endoscopy examination rooms was measured twice daily and documented as mass (kg). To calculate the mean mass of disposable waste generated during one esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and one colonoscopy, the mean mass of medical waste generated from seven examinations was calculated. The mean mass of medical waste generated during GIEs was calculated by dividing the total mass of medical waste generated by the number of GIE procedures. Results: Overall, 3,922 endoscopies were performed and 4,558 kg of waste was generated. The mean weight of medical waste generated per endoscopy was 1.34 kg. Each EGD and colonoscopy generated a mean of 0.24 kg and 0.43 kg of disposable waste, respectively. Applying the mean waste estimates from this study to annual GIE procedures performed in South Korea in 2022 showed that the total medical waste produced from GIE was 13,704,453 kg. In addition, the total masses of medical waste produced during EGD and colonoscopy procedures were 819,766 kg and 2,889,478 kg, respectively. Conclusions: Our quantitative measurement showed that a large amount of medical waste is generated from GIE procedures. However, further research is warranted to reduce medical waste generated during GIE, which is an urgent unmet need. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d56cb26a9d2e488984cde0bb3ea77fca |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1976-2283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Gastroenterology Council for Gut and Liver |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gut and Liver |
| spelling | doaj-art-d56cb26a9d2e488984cde0bb3ea77fca2025-01-15T00:51:13ZengGastroenterology Council for Gut and LiverGut and Liver1976-22832025-01-01191434910.5009/gnl240209gnl240209Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon FootprintDa Hyun Jung0Hyun Jung Lee1Tae Joo Jeon2Young Sin Cho3Bo Ra Kang4Nae Sun Youn5Jae Myung Cha6Department of Internal Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Cha Bundang Medical Center, Cha University, Seongnam, KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Bundang Jesaeng General Hospital, Seongnam, KoreaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, KoreaBackground/Aims: Although gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of national healthcare, the amount of medical waste generated by GIE procedures is not reported in South Korea. This study aimed to measure the amount of medical waste generated from GIE procedures in South Korea. Methods: We conducted a 5-day audit of medical waste generated during GIEs at seven hospitals. During the study period, medical waste in the endoscopy examination rooms was measured twice daily and documented as mass (kg). To calculate the mean mass of disposable waste generated during one esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and one colonoscopy, the mean mass of medical waste generated from seven examinations was calculated. The mean mass of medical waste generated during GIEs was calculated by dividing the total mass of medical waste generated by the number of GIE procedures. Results: Overall, 3,922 endoscopies were performed and 4,558 kg of waste was generated. The mean weight of medical waste generated per endoscopy was 1.34 kg. Each EGD and colonoscopy generated a mean of 0.24 kg and 0.43 kg of disposable waste, respectively. Applying the mean waste estimates from this study to annual GIE procedures performed in South Korea in 2022 showed that the total medical waste produced from GIE was 13,704,453 kg. In addition, the total masses of medical waste produced during EGD and colonoscopy procedures were 819,766 kg and 2,889,478 kg, respectively. Conclusions: Our quantitative measurement showed that a large amount of medical waste is generated from GIE procedures. However, further research is warranted to reduce medical waste generated during GIE, which is an urgent unmet need.http://gutnliver.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.5009/gnl240209carbon footprint; gastrointestinal endoscopy; medical waste; green endoscopy; sustainability |
| spellingShingle | Da Hyun Jung Hyun Jung Lee Tae Joo Jeon Young Sin Cho Bo Ra Kang Nae Sun Youn Jae Myung Cha Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint Gut and Liver carbon footprint; gastrointestinal endoscopy; medical waste; green endoscopy; sustainability |
| title | Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint |
| title_full | Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint |
| title_fullStr | Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint |
| title_short | Measuring Medical Waste from Gastrointestinal Endoscopies in South Korea to Estimate Their Carbon Footprint |
| title_sort | measuring medical waste from gastrointestinal endoscopies in south korea to estimate their carbon footprint |
| topic | carbon footprint; gastrointestinal endoscopy; medical waste; green endoscopy; sustainability |
| url | http://gutnliver.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.5009/gnl240209 |
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