Carbon footprint assessment and sensitivity analysis of diagnostic colonoscopy

Objectives: We aimed to perform a multifactorial carbon footprint assessment and sensitivity analysis of the colonoscopy procedure. Design: One-week single-center prospective study with all outpatients’ diagnostic colonoscopies was realized (n=66). A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology evaluated all essential supplies (accessories from 1 to 15), endoscopic procedure (energy consumption, CO2 insufflation, bowel preparation, and sedation), staff and patients transport and waste management. The impact assessment was based on a sensitivity analysis in different scenarios (base, best, worst) to calculate the Global Warming Potential over 100 years (GWP-100; kgCO2e). Results: GWP-100 of a single colonoscopy was estimated at 18.09 kgCO2e in the base scenario with 4 major contributors: patient transport (8.61 kgCO2e), staff transport (5.09 kgCO2e), colonoscope reprocessing (2.1 kgCO2e) and supplies (1.91 kgCO2e), corresponding to 47.60%, 28.14%, 11.6% and 10.6%, respectively. Nitrile gloves, underpads and a disposable SpO2 sensor accounted for nearly 50% of the total carbon footprint of all supplies. Patient preparation (bowel preparation, sedation and CO2 insufflation) and energy consumption contributed only 2.0%. Staff and patient travel showed significant variations with worst, base, and best scenarios (18.8, 13.7, and 10.2 kgCO2e), respectively. The use of different amounts of medical supplies can raise the carbon footprint to 2.38 kgCO2e in the worst scenario or diminish to 1.56 kgCO2e in the best case. Conclusions: This analysis and multifactorial colonoscopy procedure assessment has confirmed patient and staff transportation are the main carbon footprint contributors. A more sustainable and smarter mobility can considerably lower the environmental impact.

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 11. März 2025

Angenommen nach Revision: 27. August 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
03. September 2025