Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in many medical materials used in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Our aim was to evaluate how the urinary free-BPA(fBPA) and total-BPA(tBPA) levels were associated with the use of medical devices in the PICU in a prospective study.
Methods: The procedures applied to the patient were recorded during the follow-up period. Three urine samples were taken on the first day of hospitalization; the seventh day, and after 30 days or when the patients were discharged. Urinary tBPA and fBPA levels were determined using high-pressure liquid chromatography. Generalized estimating equations with repetitive measures were used to determine the associations between PICU procedures and BPA levels.
Results: A total of 115 urine samples of 40 children were studied. Mean urinary levels were 189.2 μg/g-creatinine for tBPA and 27.8 μg/g-creatinine for fBPA, and the fBPA/tBPA ratio was 27.9%. Endotracheal intubation, catheter, and haemodialysis procedures caused higher urinary fBPA levels. External drains, inhaler treatment, and the use of four or more medical devices were associated with considerably higher values of fBPA%. The increase in tBPA was positively correlated with fBPA.
Conclusions: fBPA levels and the fBPA/tBPA ratio varied according to the procedure and level of BPA exposure in children.
Keywords: Child; Free bisphenol A; Medical equipment; Paediatric intensive care unit; Total bisphenol A.
© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.