Lead poisoning

Q: Hemodialysis is a mainstay of treatment for Lead toxicity?

A) True

B) False

Answer: B

Usually, lead toxicity occurs with chronic exposure and the development of chronic symptoms. Removal from exposure is still the mainstay of treatment. In acute symptoms such as colicky pain, chelation therapy can be used to decrease the Blood Lead Level (BLL). The two chelating agents recommended are

• DMSA (2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, succimer) 
• calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)

A Toxicologist should be consulted before the administration of the chelating agent.

#toxicology

References:

1. Frith D, Yeung K, Thrush S, et al. Lead poisoning--a differential diagnosis for abdominal pain. Lancet 2005; 366:2146.

2. Kosnett MJ. Lead. In: Critical Care Toxicology, Brent J, Burkhart J, Dargan P, et al (Eds), Springer International Publishing, 2016. p.1.