RESUMEN
Objective To establish an inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) method for analysis of elements in peripheral blood of children .Methods A total of 474 healthy children in Hunan area were enrolled in this study ,and six ele‐ments ,including Ca ,Mg ,Fe ,Cu ,Zn and Pb ,in peripheral blood specimens were detected by using ICP‐MS method .Results The levels of elements ,including Ca ,Mg ,Fe ,Cu ,Zn and Pb ,in peripheral blood of healthy children showed skewed distributions ,and no significant differences were found in levels of these elements between male and female children(P>0 .05) .The reference intervals of Ca ,Mg ,Fe ,Cu ,Zn and Pb in peripheral blood of healthy children in this area were 57 .30 -81 .40 mg/L ,30 .40 -44 .80 mg/L , 361 .20-531 .40 mg/L ,848 .10-1 469 .20 μg/L ,2 .68 -6 .54 mg/L and 0 .00 -100 .00 μg/L respectively .Conclusion The ICP‐MS method for simultaneously detecting Ca ,Mg ,Fe ,Cu ,Zn and Pb in peripheral blood of children and reference interval of each ele‐ment are successfully established .