title: Efforts to identify at-risk children for blood lead screening in pediatric clinics--Clark County, Nevada.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a public health problem; however, lead screening rates remain low in many areas. Our objective is to increase screening in pediatric clinics, while testing a questionnaire for its predictability of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were approached at pediatric clinics in Las Vegas, Nevada. A brief questionnaire assessed the child's potential exposure to lead and a blood sample was collected from each child.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 564 children tested, 35 had detectable BLLs. Two questions from the questionnaire demonstrated significant differences in proportions (Fisher's exact test: P < .05) of affirmative/negative responses, for the 35 participants with detectable BLLs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The questionnaire failed to identify reliable associations between detectable BLLs and affirmative responses, limiting its use as an in-office tool. More research is recommended to identify and alleviate barriers to childhood lead screening in the clinical setting and to develop more applicable risk assessment tools.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Community Health Sciences. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA. mackenzie.burns@unlv.edu
authors.forename: Mackenzie S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Lopa H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Erika R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Marquez
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Denton
authors.forename: Beverly A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Neyland
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vereschzagin
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gremse
authors.forename: Shawn L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Gerstenberger
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009505:Nevada; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D007854:Lead