Dorina Pjetraj, Madiha El Mechri, Silvia Bacelli, Elisabetta Fabiani, Laura Caponi, Simona Gatti, Elena Lionetti
{"title":"A blue blood toddler- a case report of methemoglobinemia and literature review.","authors":"Dorina Pjetraj, Madiha El Mechri, Silvia Bacelli, Elisabetta Fabiani, Laura Caponi, Simona Gatti, Elena Lionetti","doi":"10.1186/s13052-025-01886-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Methemoglobinemia (MetHb) is a rare and potentially life-threatening condition caused by oxidation of ferrous hemoglobin (Fe2+) to the ferric (Fe3+) state, making it incapable of binding oxygen and resulting in cyanosis and tissue ischemia.</p><p><strong>Case presentation: </strong>This case presentation describes a 1-year-old boy who developed sudden cyanosis and reduced consciousness disorder. An initial assessment showed decreased oxygen saturation (SpO2 85%) despite oxygen therapy, while point-of-care venous blood gas (VBG) analysis assessed high rates of MetHb (72.7%). Methylene blue and ascorbic acid were administered, resulting in in rapid clinical recovery and normalized VBG test results. The trigger for this condition was not identified, however the most likely cause of poisoning was attributed to food oxidants.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Starting from the description of a clinical case, this paper discusses the causes and mechanisms of possible poisoning and reviews recent guidelines for methemoglobinemia management.</p>","PeriodicalId":14511,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Pediatrics","volume":"51 1","pages":"53"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Italian Journal of Pediatrics","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-025-01886-z","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PEDIATRICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Methemoglobinemia (MetHb) is a rare and potentially life-threatening condition caused by oxidation of ferrous hemoglobin (Fe2+) to the ferric (Fe3+) state, making it incapable of binding oxygen and resulting in cyanosis and tissue ischemia.
Case presentation: This case presentation describes a 1-year-old boy who developed sudden cyanosis and reduced consciousness disorder. An initial assessment showed decreased oxygen saturation (SpO2 85%) despite oxygen therapy, while point-of-care venous blood gas (VBG) analysis assessed high rates of MetHb (72.7%). Methylene blue and ascorbic acid were administered, resulting in in rapid clinical recovery and normalized VBG test results. The trigger for this condition was not identified, however the most likely cause of poisoning was attributed to food oxidants.
Conclusion: Starting from the description of a clinical case, this paper discusses the causes and mechanisms of possible poisoning and reviews recent guidelines for methemoglobinemia management.
期刊介绍:
Italian Journal of Pediatrics is an open access peer-reviewed journal that includes all aspects of pediatric medicine. The journal also covers health service and public health research that addresses primary care issues.
The journal provides a high-quality forum for pediatricians and other healthcare professionals to report and discuss up-to-the-minute research and expert reviews in the field of pediatric medicine. The journal will continue to develop the range of articles published to enable this invaluable resource to stay at the forefront of the field.
Italian Journal of Pediatrics, which commenced in 1975 as Rivista Italiana di Pediatria, provides a high-quality forum for pediatricians and other healthcare professionals to report and discuss up-to-the-minute research and expert reviews in the field of pediatric medicine. The journal will continue to develop the range of articles published to enable this invaluable resource to stay at the forefront of the field.