Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Efforts to identify at-risk children for blood lead screening in pediatric clinics--Clark County, Nevada
Mackenzie S Burns1, Lopa H Shah, Erika R Marquez
1Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Community Health Sciences. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA. mackenzie.burns@unlv.edu
Insights
Childhood lead poisoning remains a concern, but a screening questionnaire did not reliably predict elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children. Further research is needed to improve lead risk assessment tools.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Public Health
- Environmental Health
- Clinical Toxicology
Background:
- Childhood lead poisoning is a persistent public health issue.
- Low lead screening rates in pediatric populations are a significant concern.
- Effective screening tools are needed to identify at-risk children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To increase lead screening rates in pediatric clinics.
- To evaluate a questionnaire's ability to predict elevated blood lead levels (BLLs).
Main Methods:
- Children were recruited from pediatric clinics in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- A questionnaire assessed potential lead exposure.
- Blood samples were collected to measure blood lead levels (BLLs).
Main Results:
- Out of 564 children, 35 had detectable BLLs.
- Two questionnaire items showed statistically significant differences in responses for children with detectable BLLs.
- The questionnaire did not reliably predict elevated BLLs.
Conclusions:
- The tested questionnaire is not a suitable in-office tool for predicting elevated BLLs.
- Barriers to childhood lead screening require further investigation.
- Development of more effective risk assessment tools for lead exposure is recommended.
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.
Conclusion:
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.
