The medium-intensiveness group included infants receiving enteral feedings by indwelling gavage tubes either continuously or by bolus feedings; intravenous hyperalimentation by indwelling percutaneous intravenous central catheter (PICC) line, broviac, or umbilical vessel catheter (UVC); and/or nasal continuous positive airway pressure by nasal prongs.
Urinary MEHHP and MEOHP concentrations among infants who were exposed to DEHP-containing products at medium intensiveness were more than four times that of those in the low-intensiveness group.
Thirteen (24%) infants were exposed to DEHP-containing products at low intensiveness, 24 (44%) were exposed at medium intensiveness, and 17 (32%) were exposed at high intensiveness.
Concentrations of MBP were somewhat higher in the medium-and high-DEHP-intensiveness group; MBzP did not vary by product use group.
In turn, urinary creatinine measurements were available for only 62% and 92% of infants in the low- and medium-intensiveness product use group, respectively.
In units of MEHHP, the relative level of exposure to DEHP among infants in the medium-intensiveness product use group was 4.7 times that among infants in the low-intensiveness group (95% CI for multiplication factor, 1.5 15), and among infants in the high-intensiveness group, exposure to DEHP was 14 times as great (95% CI for multiplication factor, 3.9 50; Figure 1).
By comparison, as reported previously, concentrations of MEHP in the high-intensiveness group were five times that of those in the low-intensiveness group.
Urinary concentrations of MEHHP and MEOHP among infants in the high-DEHP-intensiveness group were 13 14 times the concentrations among infants in the low-intensiveness group (p ≤ 0.007).
Specifically, after adjustment for infants' sex and institution, urinary MEHHP and MEOHP concentrations among infants who were exposed to DEHP-containing products at high intensiveness were > 13 times that of those in the low-intensiveness group.
However, majority of patients fell within the medium risk group.
These categories were labelled the "no conviction group", "medium conviction group" and "high conviction group", respectively.
