Near-fatal pediatric methemoglobinemia secondary to intentional sodium nitrite ingestion.

Methemoglobinemia is the result of inappropriate oxidation of hemoglobin iron groups, leading to a failure of oxygen transport and delivery, resulting in a clinical state of refractory hypoxia. Methemoglobin levels above 70% are often considered fatal. Acquired methemoglobinemia can be caused by a variety of substances, including sodium nitrite, a commercially available food preservative and color fixative. This report describes a patient presenting with a methemoglobin level of 83% secondary to intentional sodium nitrite ingestion. The methemoglobin level recorded is amongst some of the highest found in surviving patients. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Nicholas Sajko, Karla Finn, Jesse Hill, Gurpreet K Khaira, Jonathan P Duff, Farouk Jiwani, Dominic Allain, Maria A Oliva. Near-fatal pediatric methemoglobinemia secondary to intentional sodium nitrite ingestion. The American journal of emergency medicine. 2022 Sep;59:215.e1-215.e5

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PMID: 35691874

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