Anesthesia Disposables Global Market Report 2020-30: COVID-19 Implications and Growth

The anesthesia disposables market consists of sales of anesthesia disposables and related services. These disposables include onetime use anesthesia circuits, anesthesia masks, sample lines, filters/Heat & Moisture Exchangers (HMEs), breathing bag, endotracheal tubes, and laryngeal masks. The Anesthesia disposables are easy to use and portable devices. To a large extent, they have replaced the reusable ones and are largely used to the whole body or a targeted part of the body during tests and surgical operations so that the patient does not experience the pain and other sensations.

The global anesthesia disposables market is expected to grow from $0.4 billion in 2019 to $0.5 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 54.4%. The fact that COVID-19 is essentially a respiratory ailment has boosted the market growth. There is an increased demand for respiratory devices such ventilators, nebulizers, pulse oximeters and spirometers since oxygen therapy is a major intervention for patients with severe COVID-19 infection, and this factor is contributing to the market growth. In order to compensate for lack of ventilators due to the huge demand and short supply, hospitals have started to convert anesthesia machines into breathing machines. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.8% from 2021 and reach $0.5 billion in 2023.

The anesthesia disposables market has been geographically segmented into North America, Western Europe, APAC, Eastern Europe, South America and Middle East & Africa. The North American market is the largest market for anesthesia disposables and is expected to continue to be the largest during the forecast period.

The increase in aging population leads to increased surgeries driving the anesthesia disposable market. Increasing life expectancies paired with age-related comorbidities have resulted in the growth of elderly population who undergo surgeries. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, thyroid disease, and emphysema is steadily increasing, which is proportionally increasing the number of surgeries coupled with growing prevalence of diseases. These diseases are found mainly in elderly people, which is increasing the consumption of anesthesia disposables as they are widely used in the surgical procedures and is driving the market in the forecast period.

Lack of trained anesthesiologists is restraining the market. Anesthetist plays a very vital role in patient's care during and post any surgery or operation. They acquire the ability to offer a premium level care to their patients. As with the increase in number of patients especially for surgery and operations across the globe, the demand of skilled and trained anesthetists also increase. To meet rising patient demand for anesthesia services, countries are facing critical shortage of skilled and trained anesthetists. For example, in 2017, Centre for Workforce Intelligence, a unit of UK NHS staffing agency Health Education England stated that according to their study, the demand for anesthetic services would grow by 25% by 2033, and would require the number of anesthetists to grow by 300 a year. But according to the statistics, only 130 more a year were added between 2007 and 2015 which is leading to a significant gap in the requirement of trained anesthesiologist across country is likely to hinder the growth of anesthesia disposables market.

The demand for cuffed endotracheal tubes (ETTs) in the pediatrics is growing as compared to the uncuffed ETTs. During pediatric anesthesia, general endotracheal intubation is commonly performed for airway management and positive pres-sure ventilation. Traditionally, uncuffed endo-tracheal tubes (ETTs) are recommended for children up to eight years old. But due to the major disadvantages of the uncuffed ETTs such as an increase in air leakage around the tube, making it difficult to ensure that the child is breathing adequate amounts of oxygen. In addition, the measurement of tidal volume is also compromised. Uncuffed ETTs also allow waste anesthetic gases to escape, contributing significantly to operating room contamination and rendering the anesthetic procedure more expensive. Therefore, the trend is towards increasing usage of cuffed ETTs for the pediatric procedures.

According to American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, facilities should select disposables registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and follow manufacturer recommendations regarding use, exposure time, and disposal. Also, they should discard disposable single-use devices in a biohazardous bag/container (e.g., breathing circuits, airway devices, orogastric tubes) immediately after use.

Major players in the market are Ambu A/S (Denmark), Medline Industries, Inc. (USA), Smiths Medical, (USA), Teleflex, Inc. (USA) and Vyaire Medical Inc. (USA)