Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

University Health Network, Toronto

Code:

NCT06680284

Conditions

Audit of Medical Waste Disposal

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Staff Education Program

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the amount and types of anesthesia wastes generated for each surgical case at the Toronto Western Hospital (TWH). The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • The amount of anesthesia waste generated per surgical case at TWH
  • The amount of wastes that are inappropriately discarded
  • The percentage of discarded waste that can be reused or recycled
  • The percentage of recyclable waste that is actually recycled
  • The percentage of discarded waste that is appropriately sent to landfill
  • The financial cost of waste disposal
  • The impact of a staff education program on waste reduction and proper waste disposal

The research team will conduct the audit by inspecting the contents of the waste bins and bags following completion of a surgery.

Conditions

Audit of Medical Waste Disposal

Study ID

NCT06680284

Start date

Jul 27, 2023

Status verified date

Mar, 2025

Completion date

Mar 31, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must be an anesthesia staff, resident or an anesthesia assistant at Toronto Western Hospital.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to give informed consent to participate in the study.

Study Design

Enrollment

60 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Staff anesthesiologists or anesthesia fellows

Participating study subjects will go through a staff education program to encourage proper waste disposal.

Interventions

Staff Education Program

A staff education and environmental awareness campaign and in-service to highlight strategies to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste, as well as proper waste disposal practice, will be implemented by way of instructional posters, e-learning modules, a grand rounds presentation, journal club discussion, and brainstorming sessions for waste reduction, reuse and recycle and a brief knowledge test at the end.

Primary outcome measure

  • Measure the amount of all types of anesthesia waste generated per surgical case at Toronto Western Hospital. [ Time Frame: Average 14 months after the beginning of the study. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Jayanta Chowdhury, MBBS, MD

416-603-5800jayanta.chowdhury@uhn.ca

Vincent Chan, MD, FRCPC

vincent.chan@uhn.ca

Locations

Toronto Western Hospital

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 2S8

Contacts

Jayanta Chowdhury, MBBS,MD

416-603-5800jayanta.chowdhury@uhn.ca

Principal Investigator:

Vincent Chan, MD,FRCPC

More Information

Sponsor

University Health Network, Toronto

Last update posted

Nov 20, 2025

Last verified

Mar, 2025

Keywords

  • Medical Waste
  • Waste
  • Waste Disposal
  • Anesthesia
  • Anesthesia Waste
  • Anesthesia Waste Disposal

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University Health Network, Toronto on 2025-11-20.