National Classroom > Webinars > AAP Lead Testing Webinar #2

AAP Lead Testing Webinar Series

This event is part of a four webinars series developed as part of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) project, Increasing Capacity for Blood Lead Testing and Interpretive Guidance for Blood Lead Results. The four webinars will focus on various aspect of lead testing, screening and referral, using AAP and PEHSU pediatric lead exposure experts, to educate health professionals and increase capacity relevant to lead testing.

Understanding CDC's Blood Lead Reference Value: Laboratory Best Practices & How to Interpret Results - February 20, 2019 - 1:00 pm ET

In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognized that there is no safe lead level. Rather than continuing to use a “level of concern” of 10 mcg/dL, the CDC revised language to recommend public health action to a reference level based on the 97.5 percentile of the population blood lead levels in children ages 1-5 years. This is currently at 5 mcg/dL. This change in terminology has led to confusion as to when pediatricians and public health officials should be concerned and take action when a child has an elevated blood lead level. This has also raised concerns about the accuracy of laboratory reporting levels within the variability of the instrument. This webinar will provide information on the reference level, the laboratory methods by which testing is performed and how to interpret the results.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this webinar, participants should be able to:

Understand what the reference level means to the actions taken in children with elevated blood lead levels
Describe laboratory tests used to evaluate blood lead levels
Discuss limitations of various methods of blood lead testing and how it impacts decision making in pediatric practices

Presenter: Jennifer A. Lowry, MD

Jennifer A. Lowry, MD

Director, Division of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Innovation

Children's Mercy, Kansas City, MO

PEHSU Region 7

Dr Jennifer A. Lowry is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. She is Director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Innovations at Children's Mercy in Kansas City, where she also serves as Director of Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit for Federal Region 7. She currently serves as the Chair of the Council on Environmental Health (COEH) for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and is a member of the Council of Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention. As Chair of COEH, she has provided oversight of numerous policy statements, presentations at AAP National Conference and Exhibition (NCE) and direct discussions with federal partners regarding children’s environmental health. She is active within the AAP and is a frequent presenter at the AAP’s NCE. Dr Lowry completed her fellowship in pediatric pharmacology and medical toxicology as well as her residency in pediatrics at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City. She obtained her medical degree from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine in Vermillion. Her areas of interest include developmental pediatric pharmacology and toxicology, environmental toxicology, adolescent substance use, spider envenomations and adverse drug reactions.