Sources of clinically significant neonatal intensive care unit phthalate exposure.

ABSTRACT: In the United States each year, more than 300,000 infants are admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) where they are exposed to a chemical-intensive hospital environment during a developmentally vulnerable period. Although multiple studies have demonstrated elevated phthalate biomarkers in NICU patients, specific sources of NICU-based phthalate exposure have not been identified.In this study, premature newborns with birth weight <1500?g were recruited to participate in a prospective environmental health cohort during the NICU hospitalization. Exposure to specific NICU equipment was recorded daily during the NICU hospitalization. One hundred forty-nine urine specimens from 71 infants were analyzed for phthalate metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.In initial analyses, exposure to medical equipment was directly related to phthalate levels, with DEHP biomarkers 95-132% higher for infants exposed to specific medical equipment types compared to those without that equipment exposure (p?

SUBMITTER: Stroustrup A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6538481 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature