Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Background and Importance Climate change poses a significant challenge for global health. The World Health Organization estimates 250,000 additional annual deaths between 2030 and 2050 due to global warming. The healthcare sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for approx. 4.4–5.5% of global GHG emissions. In Denmark, the production and use of drugs are responsible for 25% of healthcare-related emissions. Aim and Objectives The purpose of this scoping review was to provide an overview of existing literature concerning the climate impact from drugs in the hospital sector, thereby also highlighting any gaps in the literature. Material and Methods We made a scoping review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We conducted a systematic literature search in February 2024 using the databases PubMed and Embase. Inclusion criteria were: focus on climate impact from drugs in a hospital setting, peer-reviewed original research, published within the last 20 years and in either English, Danish, Swedish or Norwegian language. We excluded studies who did not concern the hospital sector and letters, opinions, protocols and reviews. Results Our initial search identified 2633 studies. After abstract- and full text screening, twenty articles met the inclusion criteria. Ten investigated emissions from anaesthetic gases during operating procedures and presented strategies for reduced use. Three investigated emissions from inhalers and found a great climate benefit of switching to lower emission inhalers. Three investigated overall healthcare emissions from China, England and Canada respectively and found the share of drugs to be 20–57%. Two calculated the carbon footprint of one day of cataract surgery and found drugs contributed with 7–13%. One investigated the carbon footprint from two different COVID-19 vaccines, and one calculated how lowered dosages of Trastuzumab could reduce CO2 emissions. Conclusion and Relevance Our review demonstrated that existing literature is primarily focused on anaesthetic gases and inhaler medicine, which both show large climate impact with great potential for reduction of GHG emissions by switching to alternative drugs or drug forms. Our review established that research on the climate impact of drugs is generally still scarse, and that further research is needed in order to reduce the total carbon footprint of drug use. References and/or Acknowledgements Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest
Authors: K Johansen, JF Helland, Z Nymand Ennis, S Arnspang Pedersen
Institutions: Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4408375562