SCREENING FOR PEDIATRIC LEAD-POISONING - COMPARABILITY OF SIMULTANEOUSLY DRAWN CAPILLARY AND VENOUS-BLOOD SAMPLES

Objective.-To determine the ability of capillary blood lead levels to accurately reflect true blood lead levels in children at risk for lead poisoning. Design.-A correlation study in which lead levels of capillary blood specimens obtained by four different methods were compared with lead levels of simultaneously drawn venous blood specimens. Setting.-A central-city pediatric primary care clinic and door-to-door home visits in one central-city neighborhood. Patients.-Two hundred ninety-five children at high risk for lead poisoning aged 6 months to 6 years. Main Outcome Measures.-Blood lead levels of simultaneously drawn capillary and venous blood specimens. Results.-Lead levels of all four capillary sampling methods were highly correlated (correlation coefficient greater than or equal to 0.96) with matched venous blood lead levels, with mean capillary-venous differences less than 0.05 mu mol/L (1 mu g/dL). Conclusions.-Capillary sampling is an acceptable alternative to venipuncture for lead-poisoning screening in young children.