A 3-year-old Hispanic boy with a history of pica presented for a well-child checkup. He had missed numerous checkups, and his immunizations were delayed. His development was appropriate for age. The child was fed regular milk at age 7 months. He lived in a 100-year-old house with leaded glass windows and some chipping paint. He started eating paint chips from the wall at around age 9 months. His history was negative for abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation, irritability, headache, and lethargy. The only pertinent physical findings were multiple dental carries. Results of a blood workup from a capillary sample showed a lead level of 70 mug/dL A radiograph of the extremities showed "lead lines" (Figure 1). The patient was hospitalized for treatment of lead poisoning. After consultation with the hematol-ogist and department of health, the decision was made to start chelation therapy with oral succimer and hold off on calcium disodium ethylenedi-aminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), pending a venous sample.
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