Successful Treatment of Severe Lead Poisoning Children with Low Dosage of CaNa2EDTA -A Retrospective Study of 8 Cases from China

Background: To analyze the clinical features, treatment and prognosis of 8 Chinese children with severe lead poisoning. Methods: 8 children with blood lead levels (BLLs) over 45ug/dL hospitalized at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University from January 2015 to December 2019 were diagnosed as severe lead poisoning. Detailed medical data were retrospectively studied. All patients accepted the chelation therapy with calcium disodium ethyleneaminetetraacetate (CaNa2 EDTA). Results: The onset age ranged from 3 months to 12 years old. BLLs ranged from 46.6ug/dL to 120.2ug/dL. The sources of lead exposure were different while 3 cases had taken Chinese herbs. 3 cases had symptoms of nervous system. 3 cases had anemia. 2 cases had abnormal liver function. All patients had normal renal function. All cases accepted the repeated treatment of consecutive intravenous CaNa2 EDTA (20mg/kg/d, 5 days every month), until BLLs remained below 40ug/dL. 1 case One case got rash and one patient got transient elevated serum transaminase during the courses. All cases had BLLs under 45ug/dL on followup. Conclusion: Chinese herbs containing lead might be one of the attributing factors of lead poisoning in children. Low dosage of CaNa2 EDTA was relatively safe and effective in dealing with lead poisoning in children.