How many of you CRNA's are sterile?

[Ghetto Supersta]

R.N.s in anesthesia are advised that studies completed over the past several years have indicated that personnel exposed chronically to waste anesthetic gases may be at increased risk of having an adverse reproductive outcome.

Source: Understanding Anesthesia Equipment, Dorsh and Dorsh, 1994.

Is this true? If it's not true, how are your kids? What schools do they go to? Please don't tell me Schriner's.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I think you'll find a lot more info from your doctor than here. Good luck

[smiling_ru]

There are good scavengers on machines now, as well as fast air turnover in the OR's. I believe that most of the studies showing reproductive effects were on N2O rather than the other gases.

At any rate, with equipment that is better able to dipsose of waste gases the risks are low.

This osha site dicusses the risks and remedies, quite a few of the anesthetics are not in use. Again the biggest in N20.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/wasteanestheticgases/

So far the anesthesia providers I know have normal healthy children and did not have problems with miscarriage. But, read all the literature and decide for yourself. Dorch and Dorch is outdated with respect to current scavengers and anesthetics.

[CRNA, DNSc]

I am an adult 45+ child of a CRNA that worked full-time giving anesthsia in the 1950s (before scavenging). I think that much of the research that gets quoted is old, prior to effective scavenging, and pertains primarily to N2O.

Maybe that why I became a CRNA- sucking up anesthesia through that umbilical cord!!!!!!!!:chuckle

[yoga crna]

Go to Medline and do a more up to date literature search. I believe the evidence shows that stress, whatever the cause can be instrumental in causing spontaneous abortion. I have never known any anesthesia providers who had more spontaneous abortions that other people in high stress occupations.

Yoga