ReviewCureus2026
Greening Gastroenterology: Strategies to Reduce the Carbon Footprint in Clinical Practice.
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Climate change is an escalating global health concern, and healthcare delivery contributes meaningfully to environmental impact, with gastroenterology among the more resource-intensive clinical fields. This narrative review explores the environmental footprint of gastroenterology - especially endoscopic practices - and presents actionable strategies to reduce its carbon emissions without compromising care quality. Endoscopic procedures, high in energy consumption and medical waste generation, contribute substantially to the specialty's carbon output. Additional contributors include pharmaceutical waste, inefficient waste management, and travel-related emissions from both patients and professionals. The review identifies several practical interventions, such as promoting combined procedures, reducing unnecessary biopsies, adopting reusable accessories, and implementing telemedicine and virtual conferencing to minimize travel. Sustainable disinfection technologies like plasma-activated gas and UVC light, alongside green pharmacy principles and antibiotic stewardship, are highlighted as promising innovations. Barriers to implementation - ranging from economic and regulatory constraints to clinician resistance - are critically examined, with recommendations to embed sustainability in clinical guidelines, staff training, and procurement practices. Real-world case studies underscore the feasibility and benefits of adopting sustainable gastroenterological practices across varied healthcare settings. Ultimately, the review calls for systemic transformation driven by standardized sustainability metrics, investment in green technologies, and equitable global collaboration. As climate change increasingly intersects with gastrointestinal health, greening gastroenterology is not only feasible but imperative for ensuring both environmental and patient well-being.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.