Muhammad Khalil, Junaid Rashid, Malik M Nazir Khan, Muhammad Shahid Iqbal.
Determination of serum Lead levels in children aged 1-6 years with or without history of pica.
Pak Paed J Jan ;28(1):26-30.

Objective:-To determine the serum lead levels in children with history of pica, and these with children without pica. Study Design:- Prospective Analytical type of study. Over a span of 6 months. Settings:- Paediatric Outdoor, Jinnah Hospital Lahore, a post graduate and under graduate teaching hospital affiliated with Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore. Material & methods:- Over a period of six months a total of 50 children aged 1-6 years were included in this study. Twenty five were with the history of pica & 25 without the history of pica. A detailed history and physical examination was carried out in the OPD, followed by blood sampling, for serum lead levels which was done by atomic absorption photospectrometry at PCSIR (Pakistan Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lahore. Results:-The serum lead level in children with history of pica was in the range of 9.952 ± 5.773 ug/L (P < 0.001), while in control group it ranged 4.704 ± 5.186 ug/L (P < 0.001), reflecting a significant increase in serum lead levels of children with history of pica. Conclusion:- Serum lead levels in children with the history of pica was higher than those without this history.

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