Environmental impact of pressurised metered dose inhalers versus dry powder and soft mist inhalers at a <scp>tertiary Melbourne hospital</scp>
The carbon footprint of devices to deliver inhaled respiratory medications has come into focus as climate change has been identified as a worldwide emergency. Metered dose inhalers (MDIs) contain hydrofluorocarbons that have significant global warming potential compared to dry powder inhalers (DPIs) and soft mist inhalers (SMIs), which do not use a propellant gas. A 12-month pharmacy inpatient dispensing audit demonstrated that inpatient MDI use significantly outweighed that of DPIs and SMIs and accounted for approximately 99% of inhaler-related greenhouse gas emissions at our hospital.
Authors
- Megan Rees (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7736-4000)
- Benjamin Leaver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3142-0510)
- John Dowling Allman
- Ben Dunne
- A Cushnahan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1707-5488)
Institutions
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Internal Medicine Journal
- Published
- 2024-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.16530
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Inhalation and Respiratory Drug Delivery
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.84