The New England Journal of Medicine

Owned, published, and © copyrighted, 1994, by the MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY

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Volume 331(24) 15 Dec 1994 pp 1661-1662

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Childhood Plumbism Identified After Lead Poisoning in Household Pets.

[Correspondence]

Dowsett, Robert; Shannon, Michael.

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REFERENCES

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To the Editor: Lead poisoning in children is endemic in many areas of the United States. Because of inadequate primary preventive measures, health providers must rely on secondary preventive measures, such as screening of children who have close contact with other children known to have lead poisoning. [1] Occasionally, the development of lead poisoning in household pets leads to the identification of children with asymptomatic lead intoxication. In our lead-treatment program we have identified three such children in two families.

In the first family, a pet dog had persistent vomiting and weight loss one month after the exterior renovation of the home. He was admitted to a veterinary hospital, where the diagnosis of lead poisoning was made. The dog recovered fully after chelation therapy but he was readmitted nine months later with a blood lead level of 120 microg per deciliter. This led to testing of the family's two asymptomatic children, who were one and three years old. Both were found to have lead intoxication, with blood levels of 48 and 37 micrograms per deciliter, respectively. Exposure was traced to the ingestion of lead-paint chips found in the yard. The one-year-old child received chelation therapy with edetate calcium disodium and penicillamine; blood lead levels in the three-year-old fell spontaneously after a move to deleaded housing. In the second family, a pet cat had vomiting, somnolence, and ataxia one month after the exterior renovation of a neighboring house. The cat was found to have lead poisoning and underwent chelation therapy. The family's asymptomatic two-year-old child was then tested and found to have a blood lead level of 24 microg per deciliter. The child is currently being monitored without chelation therapy. Family pets, including dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and iguanas, can show severe signs of lead poisoning; common signs include vomiting, somnolence, and seizures. [2] Pets may thus serve to identify lead-contaminated environments.

These cases suggest that screening of young children for lead intoxication should be considered in families with pets who have lead poisoning.

Robert Dowsett, B.M., B.S.
University of Massachusetts Medical Center
Worcester, MA 01655

Michael Shannon, M.D., M.P.H.
Children's Hospital
Boston, MA 02115

REFERENCES

1. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health. Lead poisoning: from screening to primary prevention. Pediatrics 1993;92:176-83. [Fulltext Link] [Medline Link]

2. Morgan RV. Lead poisoning in small companion animals: an update (1987-1992). Vet Hum Toxicol 1994;36:18-22. [Medline Link]