"Mount Sinai Researchers Identify Respiratory Support As Source Of Exposure To Phthalates In NICUs"
In a study published online in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, Mount Sinai researchers identify noninvasive respiratory support as a source of phthalate exposure in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). “The finding that noninvasive respiratory support circuits may convey exposure to potentially neuroactive phthalates provides a possible avenue to improve neurobehavioral outcomes among NICU graduates,” said Annemarie Stroustrup, MD, chief of newborn medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System. “Our study suggests exposure to common and clinically impactful phthalates still exists, despite efforts by hospital NICUs and medical equipment manufacturers to limit exposure by changing the materials used in feeding supplies. The big takeaway is that there is still more that can be done to protect developmentally vulnerable newborns in the hospital environment,” said Dr. Stroustrup. “If validated in larger studies, this research could pave the way for improvements in medical equipment manufacturing to focus on reductions in hospital-based exposure to clinically important phthalates for vulnerable populations,” she concluded.
- Annemarie Stroustrup, MD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Environmental Medicine & Public Health, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai