Abstract Background Surgical smoke produced by the use of an electrosurgical unit may have a negative effect to patients and healthcare workers in the operating room, but studies on this problem are insufficient. Methods In 100 situations in which patients were undergoing four types of surgery under general anesthesia, the count of airborne particles (in 1.415 L) was measured using a particle counter to see possible differences at the patients and at the anesthesiologists, during different types of surgery, and at several locations. Results The airborne particles during the use of an electrosurgical unit were significantly higher than before its use, both at the patient’s head (median: 56/L vs 3,514/L; 95%CI for the median difference: 769–7,699/L) and at the anesthesiologist’s position (230/L vs 6,907/L; 95%CI for the median difference: 2,945–13,196/L) ( p 2,000/L). Conclusions During the use of an electrosurgical unit, both the patients and healthcare workers are at increased risk of being exposed to high concentrations of airborne particles derived from surgical smoke.
Matsuyama et al. (Thu,) studied this question.