An evaluation of air safetysource-control technology for the post anesthesia care unit

Abstract

A new source-control system designed specifically to address the most important air safety hazards in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) is presented—the transmission of bloodborne and respiratory pathogens, and occupational exposure to waste anesthetic gases. The controversy arising from research in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s regarding waste anesthetic gases, government regulations that responded to air safety hazards, and the resulting de facto use of scavenging systems in almost all operating rooms across the United States is discussed. However, a similar concern does not apply to the PACU although its unique characteristics make it an especially high-risk environment for air safety hazards.