Acute lead encephalopathy in early infancy-clinical presentation and outcome

We studied 19 infants with a mean age of 3.8 months who presented with features consistent with acute lead encephalopathy following the use of traditional medicines. All presented with convulsions; CT scans of the brain on admission showed brain oedema in four, atrophy in four and normal findings in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of tropical paediatrics 1997-03, Vol.17 (1), p.39-44
Main Authors: Khayat, A. Al, Menon, N. S., Alidina, M. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Diseases - blood
Brain Diseases - chemically induced
Brain Diseases - therapy
Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases
Child Development
Female
Humans
Infant
Lead - blood
Lead Poisoning - blood
Lead Poisoning - complications
Lead Poisoning - therapy
Logistic Models
Male
Medical sciences
Medicine, Traditional
Metals and various inorganic compounds
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Toxicology
Tropical medicine
United Arab Emirates
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Summary:We studied 19 infants with a mean age of 3.8 months who presented with features consistent with acute lead encephalopathy following the use of traditional medicines. All presented with convulsions; CT scans of the brain on admission showed brain oedema in four, atrophy in four and normal findings in 11. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis in nine patients showed pleocytosis in six and a high protein content in eight. The median lead level in these 19 infants with encephalopathy was 3.6 μmol/l (74.5 μg/dl). Seven had a mean lead level of only 2.7 μmol/l (56.9 μg/dl) which is much below 70 μg/dl, the level usually proposed as the threshold for encephalopathy. Thirteen infants developed brain damage during follow-up; statistical analysis correlated the lead level at 2 months post chelation with an abnormal neurological outcome. Our findings indicate that in very young infants acute lead encephalopathy may occur at lead levels lower than previously reported.
ISSN:0272-4936
1465-3281
DOI:10.1080/02724936.1997.11747861