Gasoline Sniffing and Tetraethyl Lead Poisoning in Children

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-145
Author(s):  
R. L. Boeckx ◽  
B. Postl ◽  
F. J. Coodin
Keyword(s):  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tetraethyl Lead ◽  
Alad Activity ◽  
Organic Lead ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Lead Encephalopathy ◽  
Poisoning In Children

Two cases of acute organic lead poisoning following gasoline sniffing, with one death, are reported. Signs of lead encephalopathy with elevated blood lead levels and markedly decreased levels of erythrocytic δ-amino levulnic dehydratase (ALAD) were demonstrated. Erythrocytic ALAD activity was used as a screening test for the detection of tetraethyl lead (TEL) poisoning in a group of 43 children who were presumed gasoline sniffers. Their mean ALAD activity was 190 units compared to a mean of 538 units for a control group. A survey of schoolchildren in another isolated community revealed that 59% had decreased ALAD activity, which correlated well with a history of gasoline sniffing. Only 5% of the children had blood lead levels over 40 µg/dl. The two surveys herein reported suggest that there may be large numbers of children living in isolated communities who are suffering from TEL poisoning as a result of gasoline sniffing. This constitutes a major medical, public health, and social problem heretofore virtually unrecognized.

INCIDENCE OF HIGH BLOOD LEAD LEVELS IN CHICAGO CHILDREN

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 661-667
Author(s):  
Lorry A. Blanksma ◽  
Henrietta K. Sachs ◽  
Edward F. Murray ◽  
Morgn J. O'Connell
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Atomic Absorption ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Children At Risk ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Poisoning In Children

The Chicago Board of Health in October 1986 began a mass-screening program using a blood lead test to detect lead poisoning in children. Atomic absorption spectroscopy made it possible to screen 5,000 specimens in 1 month, and to test a total of 68,744 children in 2 years. The incidence of high blood lead values was variable and seasonal it was lowest in November through January and highest in June. Control children exhibited the same seasonal variation in lead levels as did the children at-risk for lead poisoning. As a result of this program, 1,154 children were treated with chelates for lead poisoning in 1967 and 1968 at the Lead Poisoning Clinic, and the incidence of high blood lead levels among children living in the same areas declined from 8.5% in 1967 to 3.8% in 1968.

Screening to Prevent Lead Poisoning

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 626-628
Author(s):  
Richard W. Moriarty
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Chelating Agents ◽  
Clinical Evidence ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Lead Encephalopathy

The absence of fully effective treatment for lead encephalopathy, and the suggestive evidence that lead poisoning may cause brain damage even in the absence of overt encephalopathy, have led to massive efforts to prevent such damage. These preventive efforts have been directed toward screening to identify children who have absorbed an undue amount of lead from their environment, reducing their further exposure to lead, and removing already absorbed lead from those most in danger of developing ill effects. This approach has been codified in the Surgeon General's Report of 19701 which makes the following recommendations: 1. All young children who live in or visit old dilapidated buildings should have periodic blood lead determinations. 2. Any child with repeated blood lead levels over 40µg/100 ml whole blood should be considered to be at risk of lead poisoning, h ave current sources of exposure to lead investigated and corrected, and be followed closely to ensure that he does not develop higher blood lead levels or clinical symptoms. 3. All children with blood lead levels between 50 and 79µg/100 ml should have diagnostic tests for metabolic and clinical evidence of lead poisoning and be treated immediately if such evidence is present. 4. All children with blood lead levels over 80µg/100 ml should be hospitalized immediately and treated with chelating agents. Many aspects of this approach are subjects of current controversey, and the last word will not be written until much better knowledge of the natural history and ecology of lead poisoning is available.

Relationship of Diet to Lead Poisoning in Children

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 636-639
Author(s):  
Joyce Mooty ◽  
Charles F. Ferrand ◽  
Paul Harris
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Daily Intake ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Lead Levels

Forty-six children, aged 24 to 47 months (25 controls and 21 subjects) chosen according to low and high blood lead levels respectively, were studied to ascertain the presence or absence of a relationship between dietary intake and the occurrence of plumbism (in children of low-income families). Through single-blind interviews by a nutritionist, dietary intakes were gathered, and the average daily intake of calories, protein, and iron was calculated. Hemoglobins, hematocrits, heights, weights, blood lead levels, and social and demographic data had been gathered during the routine check for lead poisoning and at registration at the clinic. The mean caloric and protein intake as percent of recommended dietary allowances were equal and adequate for both controls and subjects. There was no statistically significant difference between the controls and subjects with respect to iron intake which was low in both groups. Mean hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were in the anemic range for both groups. The subjects were shorter and weighed less than the control group. Pica was more prevalent among children with plumbism. The findings of this study suggest that some factors other than dietary intake must account for the occurrence of lead poisoning in the subjects and that Blacks have a higher prevalence of plumbism in our area.

Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning in children and caregivers in Chuuk State, Micronesia

2005 ◽  
Vol 208 (4) ◽  
pp. 231-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Brown ◽  
Dennis Kim ◽  
Anamaria Yomai ◽  
Pamela A. Meyer ◽  
Gary P. Noonan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Chuuk State ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Poisoning In Children

Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning among children in Jakarta, Indonesia

2003 ◽  
Vol 301 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 75-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Albalak ◽  
Gary Noonan ◽  
Sharunda Buchanan ◽  
W.Dana Flanders ◽  
Carol Gotway-Crawford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Lead Levels

RAPID PROTOPORPHYRIN QUANTITATION FOR DETECTION OF LEAD POISONING

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-631
Author(s):  
Larry P. Kammholz ◽  
L. Gilbert Thatcher ◽  
Frederic M. Blodgett ◽  
Thomas A. Good
Keyword(s):  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Glacial Acetic Acid ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Deficiency Anemia ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Fluorescent Method ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Fluorescence Test

A rapid fluorescent method for estimation of free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) is described. Simple ethyl acetate-glacial acetic acid extractions are performed, fluorescence quantitated in a fluorimeter and expressed numerically by comparison with known coproporphyrin standards. Fifty-six children were studied and the extent of lead poisoning was evaluated initially and at different follow-up intervals. A clear relationship was shown between FEP fluorescence and blood lead levels. A correlation was also seen for the intensity of fluorescence and evidence for increased absorption of lead, as estimated by x-ray evidence of ingested lead and deposits in bone. Children with iron deficiency anemia also showed elevations of FEP fluorescence. This FEP fluorescence test allows for a rapid, numerical determination which appears to be useful as a screening test for lead intoxication. It can quickly select patients that may have markedly increased lead absorption and need prompt therapy or select those that at least require further studies for possible lead exposure or the presence of anemia.

Question Regarding Need for Treatment

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-622
Author(s):  
Arthur W. Kaemmer ◽  
Byron R. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Screening ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Elevated Blood ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
Environmental Lead ◽  
Need For Treatment ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
Elevated Blood Lead Levels

Dr. Greensher and his colleagues are to be congratulated for bringing to the readers' attention a most unusual source of lead poisoning. Inasmuch as many localities are initiating city-wide lead screening programs, it is obvious that pediatricians in this country will be seeing many children with abnormally elevated blood lead levels, and in many cases diligent efforts such as this will have to be undertaken to determine the exact source of the environmental lead. biggest problems with mass screening programs for lead poisoning are well outlined by Moriarty's article.2

Too Much Lead, Too Little Iron

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-395
Author(s):  
MARGARET CLARK
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Iron Deficiency ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
The Public ◽  
Erythrocyte Protoporphyrin ◽  
Lead Levels

In Reply.— We appreciate the work of Carraccio et al which confirms our findings that the anemia found in children with lead poisoning results from coexistent iron deficiency. The discrepancy between the two studies concerning the predictive value of blood lead in elevations of erythrocyte protoporphyrin bears further exploration. What is striking, however, is that in both series more than 50% of the variability in erythrocyte protoporphyrin remains unexplained. Now the public health focus is on detecting children with low blood lead levels—before even subtle CNS damage has occurred.

Lead Levels in Cord Blood

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 606-608
Author(s):  
Paul Harris ◽  
Marshall R. Holley
Keyword(s):  
Cord Blood ◽  
Lead Poisoning ◽  
Whole Blood ◽  
Blood Lead ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Normal Blood ◽  
Blood Lead Levels ◽  
Lead Levels ◽  
The Mean

Blood lead levels were determined on 24 mothers during labor and on the blood of their newborn offspring. The mean value for the mother's blood lead was 13.2 µg/100 gm (range 10 to 20) and for the cord blood 12.3 (range 10 to 20) µg/100 gm whole blood. These levels are lower than "normal" blood lead standards usually accepted in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood lead poisoning.

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