Attention deficit after kids' critical illness linked to plasticizers in medical tubes

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/tes-ada040116.php

Public Release: 1-Apr-2016
Attention deficit after kids' critical illness linked to plasticizers in medical tubes
The Endocrine Society

Children who are often hospitalized in intensive care units are more likely to have attention deficit disorders later, and new research finds a possible culprit: a high level of plastic-softening chemicals called phthalates circulating in the blood. The researchers, who will present their study results Friday at The Endocrine Society's 98th annual meeting in Boston, suggest these chemicals, which are added to indwelling medical devices such as plastic tubes and catheters, seep into the child's bloodstream.

"Phthalates have been banned from children's toys because of their potential toxic and hormone-disrupting effects, but they are still used to soften medical devices," said lead researcher Sören Verstraete, MD, a PhD student at KU (Katholieke Universiteit) Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. "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."

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"This phthalate exposure explained half of the attention deficit in former PICU patients," he said, adding that other factors may account for the other half.

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