A preterm infant born to a woman with chronic lead poisoning was found to have the highest blood lead level recorded for a surviving neonate. Parenteral calcium disodium edetate, but not oral succimer, was effective in reducing the infant's lead burden in the neonatal period. An exposure assessment revealed the mother's long-term ingestion of lead-contaminated herbal tablets as the source. (MJA 2002; 177: 193-195) CHRONIC LEAD POISONING may manifest clinically as abdominal pain, constipation, proteinuria, haematuria, peripheral neuropathy and muscle weakness. 1 With more significant lead poisoning, encephalopathy may occur. 2 Sustained blood lead levels of over 0.5 mol/L in early childhood are likely to be associated with intellectual underperformance. 3 However, congenital lead poisoning and its subsequent management has rarely been reported in preterm infants.Treatment is with chelating agents, which reduce lead concentrations in the blood and tissues by forming watersoluble complexes that are cleared by the kidneys. 4 We report a case in which the neonatal blood lead level was the highest recorded for a surviving infant.

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