PREEMIES ACT AS CANARIES IN THE MINE FOR TOXIC PLASTIC Premature babies are exposed to unsafe levels of a chemical found in the products used in their treatment, according to new research, which raises questions about whether the medical interventions used on preemies could be causing them harm. The chemical is known as DEHP, or di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, and it helps make plastic products more flexible. DEHP is found in a variety of consumer products, and is approved for use in medical devices in the United States. The research, conducted by a team of scientists from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has found that preemies may be exposed to DEHP levels between 4,000 and 160,000 times higher than levels considered safe. Its remarkable that the care of sick and developmentally vulnerable preterm infants depends on an environment composed almost entirely of plastic, lead study author Dr. Eric B. Mallow, a neonatologist and senior research program co-ordinator at the Bloomberg School, said in a statement. The role of these synthetic materials in the clinical course of our patients remains almost completely unexplored.” The study is published in the online edition of the Journal of Perinatology. Medical products that are made from PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, and used to treat infants include most types of intravenous tubes, catheters, endotracheal tubes, and bags that store blood and other fluids. Many of these items are used on preterm infants during weeks and perhaps months of treatment at a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Because DEHP does not bind chemically to PVC, the researchers say, it is able to leach into fluids and body tissues with which it comes into contact. Read more: ctvnews.ca/health/preemies-exposed-to-high-levels-of-toxic-chemical-study-finds-1.2100107#ixzz3Iy3f5Sdz
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 16:43:42 +0000
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