Screening for Lead Poisoning
Streamline the testing process by accessing our Screening for Lead Poisoning template. Download your copy here.
Fact Checked by Gale Alagos.
What is a Screening for Lead Poisoning test?
Screening for Lead Poisoning is the process of assessing whether an individual has been exposed to lead, which can be highly dangerous and cause serious health complications. Lead poisoning typically occurs when lead dust is ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, usually when old lead paint deteriorates. While lead poisoning can affect all people, children are largely vulnerable and are typically screened for it.
When lead builds up in the body over a long period, it can have major impacts on brain and central nervous system development. In extreme cases, it can cause permanent and severe disability or death. Physical symptoms in children include anemia, weight loss, low appetite, confusion, fatigue, irritability, slowed growth, and learning delays.
The screening procedure involves blood lead tests to determine whether an adult or a child's blood lead level (BLL) is higher than normal. It is typically carried out when a child presents with lead poisoning symptoms or is deemed at high risk of lead exposure.
Initial blood lead testing involves a simple finger stick or capillary test, in which a small blood sample is taken from a child's arm or finger. Blood lead test screening can be performed and analyzed in a general practitioner's or pediatric doctor's office. If this test indicates the child has elevated blood lead levels, a venous draw blood lead test to confirm lead poisoning is necessary.
Screening for Lead Poisoning Template
Screening for Lead Poisoning Example
How to use our Screening for Lead Poisoning template
Our test for lead poisoning template is based on the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). The following are steps to use this template in your practice:
Step 1: Access the template
Access the template for free by searching Carepatron's template library or following the link on this page. You can click "Use template" to open and customize this within the Carepatron platform or by clicking "Download" to get a fillable PDF copy.
Step 2: Input patient information
Record crucial information such as the patient's name, contact details, and elements of the patient's environment that may contribute to an increased risk of lead poisoning.
Step 3: Conduct the test
Conduct a capillary blood test by pricking the child's heel or finger. Collect the blood sample on a card for analysis. With young children, take steps to minimize their anxiety around the procedure.
Step 4: Record blood lead levels
Record the child's BLLs. Indicate whether the result suggests dangerous lead exposure has occurred and if any next steps have been taken, such as referrals and further tests.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024), BLLs above the blood lead reference value of 3.5 mcg/dL are considered outside the normal range and indicative of lead ingestion.
Next steps after conducting a Screening for Lead Poisoning
When a child's blood test screening is positive for lead poisoning, it is crucial to take swift action to reduce blood lead levels and mitigate developmental and health impacts. Here are some of the key next steps:
Confirm the diagnosis
Conduct a venous blood draw and send the sample away for laboratory analysis of blood lead levels.
Treatment
Children with a blood lead level of 45 mcg/dL or higher require chelation treatment. Taken orally, chelation therapy binds with lead in the bloodstream, so it may be excreted during urination.
Remove the contaminant
It is critical to take steps to ensure no further lead exposure. Ideally, this involves removing or sealing the contaminant (e.g., lead-based paint) or moving the patient out of the contaminated environment. Siblings or children who share the child's environment should also be screened.
Prevention
Primary prevention of lead poisoning involves collaborating with the family, community, and local health departments to identify the item or source of contamination (e.g., imports, irrigation pipes, soil) and eliminate it. This also ensures the safety of other children in the family or area. Childhood lead poisoning prevention also involves ensuring children have adequate nutrition.
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, April 25). CDC updates blood lead reference value. https://www.cdc.gov/lead-prevention/php/news-features/updates-blood-lead-reference-value.html
Commonly asked questions
Screening for lead poisoning helps identify individuals who have experienced lead exposure. This is critical as lead poisoning is associated with major adverse health effects in young children, including developmental delays. Identifying lead poisoning cases helps a local health department detect and eliminate sources of lead contamination.
Lead screening requires a small sample to detect lead in the blood, typically by pricking a child's finger. This is the first test in determining childhood lead poisoning as it is minimally invasive and less painful for the child.
Nowadays, the most common strategy is targeted screening of at-risk populations such as child immigrants, refugees, or internationally adopted children who may have been exposed to lead in a previous environment. Children who have been identified as having a higher risk of lead exposure should also be screened, such as those who may have drunk from contaminated pipes.
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