Correspondence

Getting the Lead Out

N Engl J Med 2005; 352:841-843February 24, 2005

Article

To the Editor:

The description accompanying the Images in Clinical Medicine by Shen and Hirschtick (Nov. 4 issue)1 contains two errors that I believe are errors in the understanding of plumbism, rather than purely typographical errors. First, there are two references to the serum lead level, one level of 143.5 μg per deciliter and one of 116 μg per deciliter. Lead levels are measured in whole blood, not serum, because the lead is in the erythrocytes and not in the serum. Second, the normal blood level is 0, not less than 10 μg, as stated in the text. The currently acceptable lead level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is less than or equal to 10 μg per deciliter but may soon be lowered to 5 μg per deciliter.2

Paul Harris, M.D.
SUNY–Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203

2 References

1. 1

   Shen J, Hirschtick R. Getting the lead out. N Engl J Med 2004;351:1996-1996
   Full Text | Web of Science | Medline

2. 2

   Canfield RL, Henderson CR Jr, Cory-Slechta DA, Cox C, Jusko TA, Lanphear BP. Intellectual impairment in children with blood lead concentrations below 10 μg per deciliter. N Engl J Med 2003;348:1517-1526
   Full Text | Web of Science | Medline

Citing Articles (1)

Citing Articles

1. 1

   P T Sager. (2008) Key clinical considerations for demonstrating the utility of preclinical models to predict clinical drug-induced torsades de pointes. British Journal of Pharmacology 154:7, 1544-1549
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