Survey Of Cataract Surgeons’ Attitudes Toward Operating Room Waste: The Escrs Results

We present the Operating Room (OR) Waste Survey results of the ESCRS members. The purpose of this study is to examine the opinion of ESCRS members on OR waste, and to compare the data with the results from the members of the ASCRS/AAO/OOSS and Canadian Ophthalmic Society (ref: Survey of cataract surgeons’ and nurses’ attitudes toward operating room waste, Chang et al. JCRS, 2020).

It concerns a 23 question, multiple choice, online survey that was introduced by some information regarding the carbon footprint of cataract surgery in the United Kingdom and a comparison with the Aravind Eye Care System in India. It was designed by the US Ophthalmic Instrument Cleaning and Sterilization (OICS) task force.

The questions and architecture of this survey were exactly similar to the survey which was sent to members of the ASCRS/AAO/OOSS and Canadian Ophthalmic Society in 2019 (later named the ASCRS respondents). This study was performed in accordance with the original designers/authors. Data from the ESCRS respondents were obtained by emailing a link to all members of ESCRS, commencing on December 1, 2020. The online survey remained open until February 5, 2020.

99% of the ESCRS respondents is concerned about climate change (compared to 90% of the ASCRS respondents). 92% (versus 93%) consider the amount of waste produced during cataract surgery to be excessive. Considered to be important drivers of waste generation are perceived safety benefits of disposable items (71% versus 74%) and manufacturers pushing the market towards more profitable single use (SU) products (74% versus 77%). 92% (versus 94%) agree that manufacturers should offer more reusable instruments and supplies. There is a lot of willingness to consider a variety of sustainable practices and 95% (versus 92%) agrees that healthcare systems should adopt practices and policies that reduce the carbon footprint of ORs.

The ESCRS results are largely similar to the ASCRS results: an overwhelming majority is concerned about climate change and agrees that OR waste is excessive. They recognize similar factors as drivers for this waste. Furthermore, a majority experience a limitation in reusing items by regulatory agencies. To address these issues with both manufacturers and regulatory bodies, there may be a role for societies representing the healthcare professionals. This force could be very strong, because healthcare professionals enjoy a high level of trust in society. History shows that doctors and nurses have played important roles in other key societal problems.