Which of the following is an appropriate action for the nurse to take?
NUR117: Toddler Serum Levels

6. A nurse is planning care for a toddler who has a serum lead level of 4 mcg/dL. Which of the following is an appropriate action for the nurse to take?

Toddler Serum Levels
Toddler Serum Levels

Evidence exists on the negative effects of high
concentrations of serum lead on children’s health
and its negative behavioral, social, and intellectual
consequences. This issue has aroused serious
health related concerns throughout the globe. The
need for control, supervision, and management to
decrease the risks of lead exposure is deeply
felt[22].

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In our study, more boys suffered from lead
poisoning in the case group (40.9%) compared
with the control group (9.3%). More girls in the
case group (34.8%) suffered from lead poisoning
compared with the control group (8.3%). In a
study by Verbel and coworkers on 189 5-9 year-
old children of 10 different schools in Columbia,
7.4% of the children had serum lead levels of
≥10µg/dL. Consistent with our study, they found
no significant difference in serum lead levels with
respect to sex[13]. However, a review article that
assessed the serum lead levels of Chinese children
from 1994-2004 showed inconsistent results. The
researchers found that the serum lead level of the
boys (96.4 µg/l) was significantly higher (89.4
µg/l) than that of the girls[23].
We found that in the case group, the odds ratios
of those suffering from lead poisoning in the boys
and girls were 6.785 and 5.867, respectively,
compared with the control group. We also found
that boys wereat a higher risk of lead poisoning
which shows that boys are possibly more exposed
to lead.
In the case group, children living in both old and
new houses had significantly higher serum lead
levels compared with the control group.
Published by: Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Acknowledgment
Authors would like to thank Dr. Hamid Reza Irevani for
his assistance in performing the tests in his laboratory.