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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2007;298:1267.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Numerous health care groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, are urging the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act on a 2002 warning about the widespread presence of a toxic chemical in medical devices made of polyvinyl chloride. The groups are calling for mandatory labeling of such products.

The chemical, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), is used as a plasticizer of polyvinyl chloride in the manufacture of a wide variety of consumer goods. Experts caution that DEHP can leach from vinyl plastic medical devices and into patients, posing health risks to vulnerable populations, especially male infants.

A number of health care organizations are calling for labeling of medical devices that contain a toxic chemical that may harm the developing reproductive tract of male infants. (Photo credit: Garry Watson/www.sciencesource.com)

DEHP DANGERS

DEHP exposure produces a wide range of adverse effects in experimental animals, notably . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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