Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Toxic Free Medical Devices topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Doctors and hospitals back bill to remove DEHP from medical IV bags and tubing
Summary
Clinicians and manufacturers urged the committee to pass legislation banning the plasticizer DEHP from medical infusion bags and tubing, arguing safer alternatives exist and patients — including infants and cancer patients — are routinely exposed to high DEHP levels during care.
Several clinicians, researchers and a medical-products manufacturer told the committee that medical devices containing the plasticizer DEHP expose patients to a toxic endocrine-disrupting chemical and that safer alternatives are available. Dr. Bridget Lee, an emergency physician, described evidence that phthalates like DEHP act as endocrine disruptors and cited studies linking exposure to elevated blood pressure in newborns and other adverse outcomes. “We clearly need plastics in healthcare for lifesaving devices,” Dr. Lee said, “but where can we use this intervention more wisely?” Dr. Melanie Haines, an endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said that DEHP leaches from IV bags and tubing into solutions and into patients’ bloodstreams, sometimes producing serum levels in intensive-care patients hundreds to thousands of times higher than the general population. “In neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit, DEHP exposure has been associated with an increased risk of liver toxicity,” Haines said. Manufacturers and industry witnesses told the panel that DEHP-free IV bags and tubing are already manufactured and used in some hospitals. Dr. Stephanie Pitts, who represents a medical-device firm, said her company declined to put DEHP products on the market decades ago and now supplies alternatives. Several clinicians and Representative O’Day, a sponsor of the bills (S2579/H4298), urged that Massachusetts follow California and North Carolina in phasing out DEHP in medical devices. Why it matters: Witnesses argued that the medical setting is a major route of high-dose DEHP exposure and that patients most at risk — infants, pregnant patients and people undergoing chemotherapy — can face elevated risk. Proponents said a phased approach gives hospitals time to replace products and that clinical organizations support reducing DEHP use. What was not decided: The committee heard no votes; sponsors and advocates called for a favorable report to let the bill advance. Specific timelines and exemption language will need further drafting.
