ABSTRACT
Reports of adverse reproductive and devel opmental effects of the anesthetic agents are of potential concern for surgical pa tients and health care workers alike. By various estimates, between 0.5% and 2.0% of pregnant women undergo anesthesia and surgery for reasons unrelated to their preg nancy. In the United States alone, this translates to approximately 50,000 women a year. The number of health care work ers exposed to anesthetics is much larger, especially when one considers that this group encompasses physicians, veterinar ians, dentists, nurses, technicians, and as sistants. Differences in anesthetic exposure between patients and health care workers are apparent. Surgical patients are exposed to high anesthetic concentrations for brief time periods, whereas occupationally ex posed workers are exposed to low anes thetic concentrations for prolonged time periods.
