BIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO ISOFLURANE BY MEASUREMENT OF ISOFLURANE EXHALED BREATH

The relationship between isoflurane environmental concentrations in op erating rooms and the corresponding isoflurane concentration in the ex haled air of the operating personnel at the end of the exposure has be en investigated, Isoflurane was retained in an adsorbent cartridge and after thermal desorption the concentration was estimated by gas chrom atography. Significant correlation between environmental and exhaled a ir isoflurane concentrations allowed the establishment of a biological exposure index and biological exposure limits corresponding to propos ed atmospheric threshold values. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.