Higher toxicity of ingested metallic lead in a toddler compared to an adolescent
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | Pediatrics International |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ped.70039 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.70039 |
| Keywords | lead toxicity; pediatric exposure; age-related susceptibility; metallic lead ingestion; toxicokinetics |
| Description | Non-occupational sources of lead ingestion may include lead objects, historical ceramics, or old paints. Lead is a cumulative poison with a long elimination half-life of 5–10?years, due to absorption in the bones, where it replaces calcium. Therefore, the intoxication is typically subacute or chronic with anemia, vomiting, constipation, and saturnine colic. In children, due to their less-resistant blood–brain barrier, also lower intellectual quotient may occur. Here we present images documenting ingested lead objects in two patients and a rapid lead absorption in a toddler. Data of two patients who ingested metallic lead objects, the time of their elimination from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), blood lead level (BLL), hematological and biochemical findings were searched. Finally, the differences in dose and duration of chelation treatment were compared. Required informed consent has been given for both subjects prior to their inclusion in the study. A 14-month-old boy, with body weight (b.w.) 9.8?kg, accidentally swallowed a round metal historical coin, found by his father 1?h earlier in the forest in August 2020. X-ray on the same day revealed it in the stomach. The boy was monitored, and his stool checked, according to European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Guidelines, which recommend removal if the object is >2.5?cm in diameter. |