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Zhang L, Yao X, Chen Y, Li Y, Qin J, Tang S. Abdominal pain caused by Tibetan medicine: A case report of lead poisoning. Heliyon 2024; 10:e30167. [PMID: 38765025 PMCID: PMC11096953 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Nowadays, lead poisoning in children commonly occurs, but lead poisoning caused by the administration of Tibetan medicine is rarely reported. This report describes the diagnosis and management of lead poisoning in a 16-year-old girl presented with abdominal pain, vomiting, and anemia with limb numbness, who had a childhood history of epilepsy and took Tibetan medicine intermittently to control the symptoms. After admission into hospital, Computed tomography showed high-density shadows in the gastrointestinal tract. Video-Electroencephalography showed no signs of seizure. Reflux esophagitis was observed in gastroscopy. And no obvious abnormalities in the colonic mucosa through colonoscopy. Bone marrow smear test showed basophilic stippling in the erythrocytes. The blood and urine lead levels of 626 and 75.9 μg/L, respectively. We therefore considered lead poisoning, and the patient improved after chelation therapy. Due to its atypical clinical manifestations, lead poisoning is easily misdiagnosed. Thus, clinicians should pay more attention to this disease. When abdominal pain, anemia, and neurological symptoms are present, the possibility of lead poisoning should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China
| | - Xin Yao
- Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China
| | - Yalun Chen
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China
| | - Jianping Qin
- Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China
| | - Shanhong Tang
- Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China
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Wei YF, Gan CL, Xu F, Fang YY, Zhang BD, Li WS, Nong K, Michael A, Jiang YM. Clinical case analysis of 32 children aged 0-6 years with lead poisoning in Nanning, China. Toxicol Ind Health 2024; 40:41-51. [PMID: 37984499 DOI: 10.1177/07482337231215411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Lead is one of the heavy metals that is toxic and widely distributed in the environment, and children are more sensitive to the toxic effects of lead because the blood-brain barrier and immune system are not yet well developed. The objective of the study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of lead poisoning in children aged 0∼6 years in a hospital in Guangxi, and to provide scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of lead poisoning. We collected and analyzed the clinical data of 32 children with lead poisoning admitted to a hospital in Guangxi from 2010 to 2018. The results showed that most of the 32 cases presented with hyperactivity, irritability, poor appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation. The hemoglobin (HGB), mean corpusular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and hematocrit (HCT) of the lead-poisoned children were all decreased to different degrees and were below normal acceptable levels. Urinary β2-microglobulin was increased. Blood lead levels (BLL) decreased significantly after intravenous injection of the lead chelator, calcium disodium edetate (CaNa2-EDTA). In addition, HGB returned to normal levels, while MCV, MCH, and HCT increased but remained below normal levels. Urinary β2-microglobulin was reduced to normal levels. Therefore, in this cohort of children, the high-risk factors for lead poisoning are mainly Chinese medicines, such as baby powder. In conclusion, lead poisoning caused neurological damage and behavioral changes in children and decreased erythrocyte parameters, leading to digestive symptoms and renal impairment, which can be attenuated by CaNa2-EDTA treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Fei Wei
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Highly Prevalent Diseases, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Cui-Liu Gan
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Highly Prevalent Diseases, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Fang Xu
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Highly Prevalent Diseases, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- Liuzhou People' Hospital, Liuzhou, China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Fang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Highly Prevalent Diseases, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Bao-Dan Zhang
- Department of Clinical Toxicology, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Workers' Hospital, Nanning, China
| | - Wu-Shu Li
- Department of Clinical Toxicology, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Workers' Hospital, Nanning, China
| | - Kang Nong
- Department of Clinical Toxicology, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Workers' Hospital, Nanning, China
| | - Aschner Michael
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Yue-Ming Jiang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
- Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Highly Prevalent Diseases, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
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Capitão C, Martins R, Santos O, Bicho M, Szigeti T, Katsonouri A, Bocca B, Ruggieri F, Wasowicz W, Tolonen H, Virgolino A. Exposure to heavy metals and red blood cell parameters in children: A systematic review of observational studies. Front Pediatr 2022; 10:921239. [PMID: 36275050 PMCID: PMC9583003 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.921239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mechanistic studies show that heavy metals interfere with the hematopoietic system by inhibiting key enzymes, which could lead to anemia. However, the link between children's exposure and red blood cell (RBC) parameters has been inconsistent. We aimed to summarize evidence on human studies exploring the association between exposure to lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium VI and RBC parameters in children. METHODS Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for studies published between January 2010 and April 2022. Eligible papers included human observational studies that directly assessed exposure (internal dose) to the heavy metals under study and RBC parameters in participants aged ≤ 18 years. We excluded studies using hospital-based samples. Study quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health's Quality Assessment Tools for Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. We synthesized the evidence using vote counting based on the direction of the relationship. RESULTS Out of 6,652 retrieved papers, we included a total of 38 (33 assessing lead, four mercury, two cadmium, and two arsenic; chromium VI was not assessed in any included paper). More than half of the studies were conducted in Asia. We found evidence of a positive relationship between lead concentration and hemoglobin (proportion of studies reporting negative relationships = 0.750; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.583, 0.874) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (0.875; 95% CI 0.546, 0.986), and a positive relationship with red cell distribution width (0.000; 95%CI 0.000, 0.379). When considering only good-quality studies (24% of the Pb studies), only the relationship with hemoglobin levels remained (0.875; 95% CI: 0.546, 0.986). CONCLUSION We found evidence of a negative relationship between lead concentration and hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin and of a positive relationship with red cell distribution width in children. We also identified a need to conduct more studies in European countries. Future studies should use standardized practices and make efforts to increase study quality, namely by conducting comprehensive longitudinal studies. Our findings support the need to take further actions to limit heavy metal exposure during childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Capitão
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Raquel Martins
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Osvaldo Santos
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Unbreakable Idea Research, Cadaval, Portugal
| | - Manuel Bicho
- Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório de Genética, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Instituto Rocha Cabral, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | | | - Beatrice Bocca
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Ruggieri
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Hanna Tolonen
- Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ana Virgolino
- Environmental Health Behaviour Lab, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Laboratório Associado TERRA, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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