Esposizione professionale a gas anestetici: validazione ed applicazione di procedure di monitoraggio biologico

The occupational exposure to anaesthetic gases implies potential toxic effects for accumulation organs and for organs involved in metabolic and excretions processes. As a consequence, the biological monitoring of operating rooms personnel is highly suggested as preventive measure. Nitrogen protoxide and sevoflurane are two widely utilized anaesthetic gases, and their quantification in urine can be used in biological monitoring investigations. Here is reported a research work based on the optimization of an analytical method for the quantification of urinary nitrogen protoxide and sevoflurane by HS-GC/ECD e HS-GC/MS-SIM, respectively. After optimization, the analytical procedure was validated according to Food and Drug Administration requirements, and then it was applied in the biological monitoring of operating rooms personnel in 6 Italian hospitals. The investigation was carried out more times, before and after restructuring works. Sevoflurane was found in the 12.6% of the analysed samples, and nitrogen protoxide was absent in the 57.1% of cases. When the biological monitoring involved the personnel of operating rooms built before 1989, a remarkable increment of N2O concentration was found in after shift urine samples with respect to before shift ones, suggesting a noteworthy occupational exposure to nitrogen protoxide. After restructuring works, a significant decrement of N2O concentration was measured, showing both the importance of performing biological monitoring campaigns and the efficacy of structural improvements.