Study on the Correlation Between Blood Lead Levels (BLL) and Clinical Symptoms of Poisoning in Patients Who Are Oral Opium Users

Abstract

Background: In clinical observations it appeared that the clinical symptoms of lead poisoning in patients consuming opium orally were not consistent with their blood lead level (BLL). Therefore, this study aimed to determine the relationship between BLL and clinical symptoms of poisoning in opium users. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the poisoning ward of Khorshid Hospital in Isfahan. Demographic information, clinical symptoms, and laboratory parameters at the time of admission were collected and analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Findings: More than 87 of patients had BLL above 70 μg/dL. When comparing the frequency distribution of clinical symptoms of lead poisoning among the three BLL groups, the frequency of abdominal pain (the most common symptom, 94.6) differed significantly across different BLL levels (P = 0.03). In the comparison of age, vital signs and laboratory parameters among the three BLL groups, the pulse rate (PR) varied significantly at different BLL levels (P = 0.01), but no significant difference is observed for other variables. An increase in mean blood pressure, mean indices of aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, thyroxine and blood urea nitrogen was observed with increasing BLL. The mean parameters of hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration decreased with increasing BLL. Abdominal pain and anemia were observed in all three BLL groups. Conclusion: It is recommended that BLL screening be performed for early diagnosis and treatment of lead poisoning in opium users who present with gastrointestinal symptoms and anemia. © 2025, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.