University of Pittsburgh, 949 Benedum Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2012 May 15;425:191-8. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.03.006. Epub 2012 Apr 5.
This study introduces life cycle assessment as a tool to analyze one aspect of sustainability in healthcare: the birth of a baby. The process life cycle assessment case study presented evaluates two common procedures in a hospital, a cesarean section and a vaginal birth. This case study was conducted at Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which delivers over 10,000 infants per year. The results show that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), waste disposal, and the production of the disposable custom packs comprise a large percentage of the environmental impacts. Applying the life cycle assessment tool to medical procedures allows hospital decision makers to target and guide efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of healthcare procedures.
婴儿的诞生。所呈现的过程生命周期评估案例研究评估了医院中的两种常见程序，即剖宫产术和阴道分娩。该案例研究在匹兹堡大学医学中心的 Magee-Womens 医院进行，该医院每年分娩超过 10,000 名婴儿。结果表明，加热、通风和空调（HVAC）、废物处理以及一次性定制包装的生产占环境影响的很大比例。将生命周期评估工具应用于医疗程序可以使医院决策者有针对性地指导努力，以减少医疗程序对环境的影响。
