St1b Waste Anesthetic Gases: the Invisible Threat

Waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) can be defined as all halogenated organic compounds (including methoxyflurane, halothane, isoflurane, sevoflurane, desflurane, and enflurane) and nitrous oxide that escape from the anesthetic circuit, or are exhaled by the patient. Management of WAGs intuitively seems prudent, but because excessive exposure is often difficult to detect without special monitoring devices, there seems to be a feeling of “out of sight, out of mind.” WAGs can be likened to a stealth bomber -often silently present, but still potentially dangerous.