Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital stopped using two harmful anesthesia gasses last year and are now working to reduce the use of two others by 75%, according to a May 21 news release.
In 2023, the Los Angeles-based health system eliminated nitrous oxide, a potent gas that depletes the ozone layer, and desflurane, which is the most potent inhaled anesthetic, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
The system's next targets, isoflurane and sevoflurane, are the third- and fourth-most environmentally harmful anesthesia gasses.
At least six other hospitals and systems are trying to expel the use of desflurane, an anesthesia gas that lingers in the atmosphere for more than a decade.