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CHICAGO (AP) - Children who are poor often don't get the medical follow-up they need for lead exposure, and those at highest risk for lead poisoning are the least likely to get additional testing, a study in Michigan found.
The study involved 3,682 children in the Medicaid program whose blood tests showed levels of lead that could harm mental function. Only about half the children — 54 percent — had follow-up testing within six months, the researchers said.
Follow-up screening to see if initial blood-lead levels have changed is a key step in monitoring cases, said lead author Dr. Alex Kemper, an assistant pediatrics professor at the University of Michigan. Such testing typically precedes treatment.
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