title: Screening for pediatric lead poisoning. Comparability of simultaneously drawn capillary and venous blood samples.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the ability of capillary blood lead levels to accurately reflect true blood lead levels in children at risk for lead poisoning.
  
  
  METHODS
  A correlation study in which lead levels of capillary blood specimens obtained by four different methods were compared with lead levels of simultaneously drawn venous blood specimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  A central-city pediatric primary care clinic and door-to-door home visits in one central-city neighborhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred ninety-five children at high risk for lead poisoning aged 6 months to 6 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood lead levels of simultaneously drawn capillary and venous blood specimens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lead levels of all four capillary sampling methods were highly correlated (correlation coefficient > or = 0.96) with matched venous blood lead levels, with mean capillary-venous differences less than 0.05 mumol/L (1 microgram/dL).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Capillary sampling is an acceptable alternative to venipuncture for lead-poisoning screening in young children.
authors.affiliation: Salt Lake City-County Health Department, UT 84190-2150.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Schlenker
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mark
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Layde
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Linke
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matte
mesh_terms: D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D002196:Capillaries; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014680:Veins
chemical_list: D007854:Lead