Outpatients who undergo a CT scan in the Radiology department and who are given contrast fluid for this have recently been given a few urine bags to take home again. By: Joyce de Bruijn The patients were requested to collect their urine in the urine bags during the first hours after returning home. In the urine bag, the urine immediately changes into a kind of firm, odorless gel that can be thrown in the trash. In this way, patients prevent the contrast medium from ending up in the sewer via their urine and then in the surface water. buddy The Radiology department of Erasmus MC has also become a buddy for hospitals that also want to work with urine bags. The department has gained experience with it in a pilot project and can explain to interested colleagues exactly what the use of urine bags involves for the hospital and the patient. Those who undergo a CT scan often receive iodinated contrast medium to make blood vessels and organs more visible on the CT scan. These contrast agents leave the body completely through the urine. They do not degrade and accumulate in the environment. Between November 2020 and March 2021, a successful pilot study was conducted in six Dutch hospitals into the feasibility of handing out urine bags. Climate crisis Every year 190,000 tons of pharmaceutical residues end up in the environment. Of this, 30,000 tons consist of iodine-containing contrast agents, says radiodiagnostic lab technician Maarten Dirks. ‘Given the current water shortage, we must work together to ensure that the quality of the surface water remains as good as possible,’ says Dirks. ‘We contribute to this with the urine bags.’ ‘Given the water shortage, we must ensure that the quality of surface water remains good’ The Erasmus MC does have a Pharmafilter, which filters medicine residues from the waste water before they end up in the sewer. But then only medicine residues from people who go to the toilet in the hospital are filtered. Garbage can Patients who can go home after a CT scan, excrete the contrast fluids into the toilet at home. Peeing in the urine bag prevents this. A used urine bag can be put in the trash and ends up in the waste incineration plant among the rest of the household waste. This means that the contrast medium causes much less damage to the environment. Hospitals that want to get started with the urine bags can send an email to plastassen@erasmusmc.nl. A toolkit is available for them containing communication tools for employees and patients. Wide Test Urine Bags Wageningen University & Research conducted research into the test with the urine bags in collaboration with transition agency Van Waarde. During the period November 2020 and March 2021, approximately 10,000 patients received urine bags to take home. 1500 patients filled in a questionnaire afterwards about the ease of use and about their motives for using the urine bag. In that study, 95 percent of the patients indicated that they would certainly use a urine bag again in a subsequent CT examination. 96 percent think it contributes to a better environment. 8 percent thought that using the urine bag was a hassle, so they only used 1. 70 percent thought urinating in a urine bag was just as hygienic as urinating in a toilet.