Investigation of the prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with chronic exposure to anesthetic gases

There are many pills and chemical substances which are used in the identification and the treatment of the diseases and which affect the metabolism causing organ-devastation. The agents are useful fort he patients, on the other hand, they can create big risks fort he workers of the health service. İt is crucial to determine those risks and take the necessary precautions. Anasthesic gases used in daily practise are nitros oxid, halotane, enflurane, izoflurane, sevoflurane and desflurone. Used and inactive gases cause pollution by speading thorughout the environment during the anaesthesy induction and wake-up process because of the squeezeing of the gas in the anaesthesy systems in stuations when wholly closed anaesthesy system isnot used where there is little or no used gas systems. Although there is no clinic study showing that there is a direct relation between the used anaesthesic gases and the hypotroidy development there are many studies showing that these gases have negative effects on the workers of health service. İn this study we aimed to investigate the hypotroidy development on those cronically subjected to the anaesthetic gases. This study has been applied on 60 workers, in similar operation room conditions, working in operation rooms who are exposed to inhalation anaesthetics such as nitros oxid, izoflurane, desflurane and sevoflurane together with the control group of 60 voluntary participants in order to the determine the hypotroidy risk by determining the sT3, sT4, TSH, antitg ve antitpo levels. After centrifuged, the blood samples, were studies by the help of the tool Cobas 6000 using Cobas kits fort he measument of the sT3, sT4 and TSH by using electrokemiluminesance immunoassay method. Euroassay kits which absorbed troglobuline and tyroid peroksidaz antigens were used fort he measurement of the Antitg Ab and Antitpo Ab.'Titre' limit was evaluated as 1/100. % 2 for the Antitg and % 12 for the Antitpo were accepted of as the referance values. Average sT3 and sT4 values were found lower in the blood samples of those exposed to anaesthesic gases whencompared to the values of the blood samples of the control group. ( p=0,000 for sT3; p=0,018 for sT4). In gas exposedness group, average sT3 and sT4 values of women and average sT4 values of men were lower which was statistically meaningful ( p<0,05). This backs up the hypothesis that cronic anaesthesic gas exposedness forms health risk in terms of TSH highness, antitg positivity and the frequency of hypotroidi development. This is a pre-study on the way to explaning that used anaesthetic gases have negative effect on the workers in the operation room. İn the order to reach a final decision, further studies are needed. At the and of this study, we suggest that airing and used gas systems are placed and anaesthesy tools are regulary controlled and necessary precautions are taken in order to hold the gas exposedness level on a definite level by measuring the anaesthesic gases in the air of the enviroment. Low-current anaesthesy controls not only the exposedness level of the staff but also of the patient. Expecially if there is no active airing system and used gas system, it is important to use the total intrevenose or in suitable stuations regional anaesthesy should be trained on the possible detrimental effects of the anaesthesic gases. Periodical monitorization of the exposedness level will help improve working conditions and lower the exposedness level.