Extract:
“The use of plastics in health care raises concerns about potential leaching of endocrine-disrupting plasticizers and micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). The leaching of particles from plastic health care equipment in the blood of intensive care patients has been associated with several health risks, and as such, similar health risks could occur with leaching of microplastics.
To estimate the risk of MNPs administered via parenteral nutrition (PN) in premature neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), more knowledge on the size, composition, and concentration of MNPs that can end up in the patients is needed.3 Therefore, this pilot study aimed at estimating the migration of microplastics (MPs;> 25 µm) from an infused PN circuit (both crystalloid and lipid) using an ex vivo experimental setup mimicking the clinical application as used in the NICU of the Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium.”
Reference:Vercauteren M, Panneel L, Jorens PG, Covaci A, Cleys P, Mulder A, Janssen CR, Asselman J. An Ex Vivo Study Examining Migration of Microplastics from an Infused Neonatal Parenteral Nutrition Circuit. Environ Health Perspect. 2024 Mar;132(3):37703. doi: 10.1289/EHP13491. Epub 2024 Mar 20. PMID: 38506503; PMCID: PMC10953496.