Banned Chemical From Hospital IVs Linked To Attention Deficit Disorder

"A chemical used to make plastic IV tubes and catheters has been linked to attention deficit disorder in children who received treatment for a serious illness, according to a new study.

The tubing and catheters contain plastic-softening chemicals, called phthalates, which have been banned from children's toys and products such as teething rings and soft books because of their potential toxic effects. The chemicals are known to disrupt hormones and have been implicated in everything from asthma to autism.

"We found a clear match between previously hospitalized children's long-term neurocognitive test results and their individual exposure to the phthalate DEHP during intensive care," lead researcher Soren Verstraete, from Leuven, Belgium, told the Endocrine Society.

Verstraete and his colleagues tested 449 children, newborns to age 16, who were treated in pediatric intensive care units and whose care involved between one and 12 medical tubes. They found high levels of phthalates, even among those admitted with only catheters in place. Until the young patients' discharge from the ICU, those levels remained 18 times higher than in a control group of healthy children."

Amy Ellis Nutt reports for the Washington Post April 6, 2016.