Monday February 22 10:35 AM ET

Nurses' Group Speaks Out Against Vinyl IV Bags

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A nurses' group joined other health lobbyists Monday in a campaign against polyvinyl IV bags, saying they could pose a threat to patients.

They said chemicals can leach out of the bags and might cause cancer in some patients. They called for the polyvinyl bags to be replaced with bags made out of other materials.

``In health care, where the primary dictum is 'First, do no harm,' it is both appropriate and imperative that registered nurses take such a stand,'' Beverly Malone, president of the American Nurses Association, said in a statement.

The group Health Care Without Harm objects to the use of softeners called phthalates, which make the stiff plastic that forms the basis of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) more flexible.

Phthalates can dissolve into the contents of an IV bag, especially if the drugs have qualities that make them resemble fats in the body. Some cancer drugs are not given in PVC bags for this reason.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared the phthalates used in the bags as a probable cancer-causing agent in humans, based on animal tests. But there are no tests that show use of the bags causes cancer in humans.

Companies that make the IV bags say they are safe, and say bags made out of other materials are too expensive.

Health Care Without Harm says the alternate bags will only become widely available when doctors, patients and hospitals demand them.