Need Special Mask to Wear in Surgery - Any Docs/Nurses Out There?

sinisterkat01

Hi there,

 I need to be able to be around inhalant anesthesia in order to keep up with my surgeries and also in case of any emergency in my clinic (vet clinic).  I know a few of my coworkers had a special mask that was approved for pregnant women and they wore it throughout their pregnancy. 

Just wondered if anyone was lurking out there that had this info . . .

ai&Jas

I am not a Dr or nurse but I did who work on a daily basis with small animals that needed to be anesthetized with isoflurane and I was also performing some surgeries. My company had two options either to have me wear a respiratory (which would have interfered with my teaching) or for me to only visit sites whether they had a vacuum system which sucked out the gas. I did wear a mask during my visits however they were  what the customers had.

 

kgb1411

I am not sure what they are talking about.  Maybe an N95 mask?  FortMeyersBride is an anesthesia resident.  I don't know how often she is on, but she might know.

I would ask to not be part of those cases during your pregnancy if there is anyone else to do it.  There were lots of times during my pregnancy that I had to ask other people to do things because I was nervous about the risk to my baby.  They were always really helpful and accomidating, more so than I thought.

sinisterkat01

Thanks for the replies.  I have deduced (by using some vet message boards) that I need an OSHA approved mask with activated charcoal filters.  I am still looking for a good brand name, etc.

I suppose that I could take myself off of all elective surgeries at this point, but I am a little worried about what this means to the business and my skill level (I am a new grad in a 2 doc practice; I am the second doc.)  I will have to draw the line at helping with certain types of anesthesia cases that waste more gas than others.

I feel that I have to have a mask available in case any gas anesthesia would be needed for emergencies, or maybe even for euthanasia, when I am by myself.

FortMyersBride

Hmmm, I'm not familiar w/ the charcoal mask filters, at least we don't have that option in the human ORs  But getting special masks at our hospital is a pain, essentially you have to get occupational health to fill out paperwork stating why you need one and get it processed through the admins, so perhaps no one bothers w/ it.  I personally refused to do mask inductions while pregnant (not a big deal, I just only took care of pts who already had IVs and I could put them to sleep that way).  I suppose I inhaled a small amt of anesthetic from leaking around the ET tube, but our ORs turn over the air q15min so I wasn't too worried.  Let me know if you find the mask, I may be interested in them for future pregnancies so that I can still do mask inductions for kids.

sinisterkat01

Thanks for the reply.  From what I can gather, the type of mask is just what people wear when they are handling noxious fumes (paint, etc) and/or asbestos.  Some vets have commented back to me saying that they pick them up at the local Home Depot!?!  I guess I am just not sure evidence this is based off of.

I am not too worried about my patients once they are intubated, but things at a vet clinic are very far from those at the human OR.  Mask inductions are used a fair amount of the time (and our course our masks do not fit our patients as well) and sometimes we even have to use what is called a chamber induction.  For very feral cats, etc., we have to use a plexiglass type chamber so that no one gets hurt during induction, especially if it is the type of animal we can't get close to for premeds.  This chamber induction is not common, but a HUGE waste of gas.  Plus our ventilation is far from adequate when compared to a human OR.

 It is very frustrating to find good information on this topic!  My doctor has not been very much help either.  I will let you know if I find a good mask or any further info.  (I do know that they are not comfy - people make Darth Vadar jokes when people wear them!)

sinisterkat01

FortMyersBride:

Hmmm, I'm not familiar w/ the charcoal mask filters, at least we don't have that option in the human ORs   Let me know if you find the mask, I may be interested in them for future pregnancies so that I can still do mask inductions for kids.

FWIW, the best specific rec that I can find recommends the 7500 series half facepiece respirator with 6001 organic vapor chemical catridges from 3M.  Got this from a vet writing on article on OSHA standards for one of our publications (NAVC Clinicians Brief). 

snassery

Technically speaking, isoflurane isn't teratogenic and shouldn't put your baby at risk. ?I avoid doing mask inductions on kids these days simply because we use nitrous oxide to acceleration the induction, and THAT is dangerous to a fetus. ?And I could just leave out the nitrous, but I don't think that's fair to the babies, so I just do IV inductions these days. ?I understand you wanting to avoid repeat exposures to it though! ?N95 masks are not protective for inhalational agent exposure. ?