All issues > Volume 48(9); 2005

Case Report

Korean J Pediatr. 2005;48(9):1009-1015. Published online September 15, 2005.

Two Cases of Lead Poisoning due to Herb Medicinal Pills

Seong Hwan SH Choi¹, Eun Young EY Park¹, Jung Yeon JY Shim¹, Deok Soo DS Kim¹, Jae Won JW Shim¹, Hye Lim HL Jung¹, Moon Soo MS Park¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Moon Soo MS Park ,Email: parkms@kbsmc.co.kr

Abstract

We encountered two children with lead poisoning who were administered herb medicinal pills recommended by their clergyman. These patients presented anemia and severe coliky abdominal pain, but no neurologic symptoms. For this reason, they were initially misdiagnosed with gastrointestinal hemorrhagic disease. However, we got a clue that they took herb medicinal pills. Finally, based on the assay of blood lead level, we made a correct diagnosis of lead poisoning in these patients. These patients underwent chelating therapy. Subsequently, the concentration of blood lead was decreased. Finally, we drew a conclusion that the possibility of lead poisoning must be considered in children who complained of colicky abdominal pain accompanying anemia. Here, we report two pediatric cases of lead poisoning with a review of literature.

Keywords :Lead poisoning , Abdominal pain , Colic , Anemia , Chelating therapy , Herb medicinal pills