Genetic damage in operating room personnel exposed to anaesthetic gases

This study was done to examine whether genetic damage could serve to indicate exposure to anesthetics. A group of 40 operating room personnel of different professions [anesthesiologists, surgeons, technicians and nurses] and a control group of 20 subjects were examined for chromosome aberrations and micronuclei frequency in lymphocytes of peripheral chromosome fragments or whole blood. The results revealed an increase in chromosome damage in the exposed group, but concerning the micronuclei frequency, no clastogenic potential could detected after exposure to anesthetic gases