SynthesisIntensive care medicine2024
The carbon footprint of critical care: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Intensive care medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Environmental footprint of gastrointestinal endoscopy services: a systematic review.Endoscopy · 2026Pooled it
- Environmental Sustainability-Related Knowledge, Behaviors, and Perceived Barriers Among Italian Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Beyond Disposability: A Systematic Review of Reusable and Single-Use Products in Hygiene-Related Nursing Care in the ICU.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Review
- From carbon cost to climate care: Greening our intensive care units.World journal of critical care medicine · 2026Review
- Carbon footprint associated with neonatal intensive care unit admission of very preterm infants: A retrospective pilot study applying life cycle assessment.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Observational
- Environmental Sustainability Profile of Intensive Care Nurses in Türkiye: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Volatile sedation as a source of greenhouse gas emissions in intensive care medicine.Intensive care medicine · 2026Article
- Environmental sustainability evidence in critical care medicine: a scoping review.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2026Article
- Choosing Wisely Canada climate-conscious recommendations for critical care medicine.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2026Article
- Sustainable continuous renal replacement therapy: The influence of blood flow rates, effluent dose, autoeffluent, and citrate anticoagulation on carbon dioxide emissions.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2026Article
- Innovation in intensive care: a framework to turn ideas and concepts into actionable solutions.Intensive care medicine · 2026Review
- Environmental and economic impact of ten commonly used intensive care unit medications depending on administration route.Annals of intensive care · 2026Article
- The role of timely assessment of appropriate care in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in intensive care medicine.Annals of intensive care · 2026Article
- Experts' recommendations for the management of adult patients with cardiogenic shock.Annals of intensive care · 2026Article
- Choosing wisely: comparing the carbon footprint of three respiratory sampling techniques for ventilator-associated pneumonia.Annals of intensive care · 2025Article
- Volatile sedation in critically ill adults undergoing mechanical ventilation: not all sedatives are equivalent, in sustainability!Critical care (London, England) · 2025Article
- Assessing the carbon footprint of the initial 24 h post-severe trauma admission in a French ICU: a pilot study.Annals of intensive care · 2025Article
- Article
- Circular material flow of medication in the intensive care unit.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Article
- [Environmental sustainability in intensive care medicine].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe provision of healthcare is a substantial global contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Several medical specialties and national health systems have begun evaluating their carbon emission contributions. The aim of this review is to summarise and describe the carbon footprint resulting from the provision of adult, paediatric and neonatal critical care.
methodsA systematic search of Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science was performed in January 2023. Studies reporting any assessment of the carbon footprint of critical care were included. No language restrictions were applied. GHG emissions from life cycle assessments (LCA) were reported, in addition to waste, electricity and water use. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed.
resultsIn total, 13 studies assessing and describing the environmental impact of 36 adult or paediatric intensive care units (ICUs) were included. Two studies described full LCAs, seven reported waste only, two provided audits of unused medical supplies, one reported electricity use, and one study described a Material Flow Analysis. The estimated carbon emissions from critical care range between 88 kg CO
conclusionThere is a significant carbon footprint that results from intensive care provision. Consumables and waste constitute important, measurable, and modifiable components of anthropogenic emissions. There remains uncertainty due to a lack of literature, several unstudied areas of carbon emissions from critical care units, and within measured areas, measurement and reporting of carbon emissions are inconsistent.
Indexed as
Identifiers
38416200What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.