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To Dispose or to Reuse? Analyzing the Life Cycle Impacts and Costs of Disposal, Sterilization, and Reuse of Electrophysiological Catheters

Author

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  • Catherine Lalman

    (Eberly College of Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 201 Old Main, State College, PA 16802, USA)

  • Hirushie Karunathilake

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, Moratuwa 10400, Sri Lanka)

  • Rajeev Ruparathna

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada)

Abstract

Given the growing ecological footprint of anthropomorphic activities, considering the environmental impacts of any process is becoming increasingly important. This is especially true for the healthcare industry, whose objective of maintaining human health standards is impeded by its own unsustainable practices. To this end, life cycle analysis is particularly helpful. There have not been many life cycle analyses performed on a healthcare device or on medical procedures. Many medical devices are single use, which leads to a significant waste management problem, particularly as plastic is widely used in their composition. The objective of this study is to present a life-cycle-thinking-based approach to compare the environmental impacts associated with single-use electrophysiological catheters with the sterilization of reusable electrophysiological catheters using hydrogen peroxide, ethylene oxide, and peracetic acid. A life cycle assessment was conducted considering different use, disinfection, and disposal scenarios for electrophysiological catheters, using ReCiPe midpoint and endpoint analysis with the SimaPro software. The findings indicate that using single-use disposable electrophysiological catheters, instead of sterilizing a single catheter using either ETO or hydrogen peroxide and reusing multiple times, is preferable from a purely environmental perspective. However, the costs reduce drastically when equipment is sterilized and reused instead of disposing them after using one time. This in turn illustrates that depending on the process, sanitizing and reusing medical devices may not always be more resource-efficient than single device usage. From a cost perspective, ETO sterilization has the lowest costs, and yet it leads to an aggregate environmental impact of over 20 times compared to the single-use scenario, mainly due to the required detoxification process. The outcomes of this research will assist the health care industry in identifying the most suitable operational procedures considering patient safety, economics, and environmental stewardship, and in developing policies and guidelines for a more sustainable healthcare sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Catherine Lalman & Hirushie Karunathilake & Rajeev Ruparathna, 2023. "To Dispose or to Reuse? Analyzing the Life Cycle Impacts and Costs of Disposal, Sterilization, and Reuse of Electrophysiological Catheters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:6:p:5363-:d:1100293
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eduardo P. Olaguer & Amy Robinson & Susan Kilmer & James Haywood & Doreen Lehner, 2019. "Ethylene Oxide Exposure Attribution and Emissions Quantification Based on Ambient Air Measurements near a Sterilization Facility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Stougie, Lydia & Tsalidis, Georgios A. & van der Kooi, Hedzer J. & Korevaar, Gijsbert, 2018. "Environmental and exergetic sustainability assessment of power generation from biomass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(PB), pages 520-528.
    3. Matthew J Eckelman & Jodi D Sherman & Andrea J MacNeill, 2018. "Life cycle environmental emissions and health damages from the Canadian healthcare system: An economic-environmental-epidemiological analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-16, July.
    4. Anna Schulte & Daniel Maga & Nils Thonemann, 2021. "Combining Life Cycle Assessment and Circularity Assessment to Analyze Environmental Impacts of the Medical Remanufacturing of Electrophysiology Catheters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-22, January.
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