Parenteral nutrition as an unexpected and preventable source of mercury exposure in preterm infants

Abstract

Perinatal mercury exposure has neurodevelopmental consequences, which may be worse in preterm infants. In our cohort (N = 60), maternal and infant prenatal exposures were low, but infant levels increased during hospitalization and correlated only with duration of parenteral nutrition. A non-negligible exposure resulted from the nutrition preparation on equipment shared with adult preparations.