The association between urinary BPA levels and medical equipment among pediatric intensive care patients

Abstract

We aim to evaluate urinary total BPA (tBPA) levels and association with medical devices used on patients in pediatric intensive care units. This cross-sectional descriptive study included 117 critically ill children. Urinary tBPA levels were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. General estimating equations with repeated measures analyzed the effect of interventions and devices on urinary BPA levels. A total of 292 urine samples taken from 117 child intensive care patients were studied. When age, sex, and body mass index-for age z-scores were controlled, cases having endotracheal intubation showed higher urinary tBPA levels (p = 0.003) and hemodialyzed patients had considerably higher urinary tBPA levels (p = 0.004). When confounding factors were controlled, cases using both multiple iv treatment and more than four medical devices showed higher urinary tBPA levels than their counterparts (p = 0.007 and p = 0.028, respectively). The use of certain medical devices and interventions could increase BPA exposure in pediatric intensive care patients.

Keywords: Bisphenol A; Child; Intensive care unit; Medical devices.