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A 61-year-old man presented for evaluation of increasing abdominal pain of eight months' duration. The patient reported having worked in a lead-smelting company for the past 30 years. The physical examination showed a bluish discoloration of the gums (Panel A). The blood level of lead was 130 µg per deciliter (6.3 µmol per liter [reference range, <20 [1.0 µmol per liter]). His hemoglobin level was 11.5 mg per deciliter, and basophilic stippling was evident in some erythrocytes on a blood smear stained with May–Grunwald–Giesma stain (Panel B). The patient was given a diagnosis of chronic lead poisoning and treated with . . . [Full Text of this Article] |
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