The present systematic review, through the analysis of several studies, focused on attempting to answer the following question: Is the micronucleus assay suitable for genetic biomonitoring of workers exposed to anesthetic gases? We conducted searches in PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science to identify eligible articles on December, 2023. After screening the manuscript, a total of 18 articles were included in the review. In the quality assessment, a total of 12 studies were rated as strong, 3 studies were rated as moderate and 3 were rated as weak. Taken as a whole, the results suggest that occupational exposure to different anesthetic agents may induce genome damage and that the micronucleus assay appears to be a reliable and suitable DNA damage biomarker for professionals chronically exposed to anesthetics.
Keywords: Anesthetics; genotoxicity; inhalation; micronucleus assay.