title: Unaffected blood boron levels in newborn infants treated with a boric acid ointment.
abstract: No rise in the boron content of the plasma of 22 newborn infants was demonstrated following repeated daily application of a water-emulsifying ointment containing the equivalent of 3% boric acid to the napkin region. The mean plasma-boron concentration fell over 5 days from a pretreatment value of 0.49 to 0.29 mg/litre, the corresponding values in ten untreated neonates being 0.62 and 0.21 mg/litre, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found. The results confirm the safety of such ointments for application to the skin, a conclusion predicted by theoretical estimates of the maximum possible boric acid absorption following application of the ointment.
mesh_terms: D001888:Boric Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D001895:Boron / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009824:Ointments; D012869:Skin Absorption
chemical_list: D001888:Boric Acids; D009824:Ointments; D001895:Boron