Clinical manifestations of childhood lead poisoning - abstract

Clinical characteristics of 58 patients admitted to the Bustamante Hospital for Children with lead poisoning are described. The most common source of lead exposure was backyard battery smelters. The majority (58 percent) of the patients were less than three years of age. Lead toxicity was more severe in younger children; they had higher lead levels and a greater incidence of encephalopathy. Patients with lower haemoglobin values had relatively higher lead levels (r= -0.54;p<0.001), and a higher incidence of encephalopathy (p<0.011). Radiology evidence of lead poisoning was present in 96 percent of our patients. This demonstrates the usefulness of X-rays in diagnosis, particularly in areas where blood lead levels are not easily availabel (AU)

Thermoregulatory instability in kernicterus

A child with kernicterus and severe marasmus had marked thermoregulatory instability. An initial episode of hypothermia was attributed to deficient energy reserves, while experimental evidence suggested that subsequent intermittent fever was due to an unstable set-point of the hypothalmic thermoistat. Impaired vasomotor reactivity as a result of autonomic dysfunction may also have contributed to the unstable body temperature (AU)