Acquired methemoglobinemia is a potentially fatal condition that leads to tissue hypoxia. Although the clinical features of methemoglobinemia depend on the methemoglobin levels, the clinical course would differ depending on the causative... more
Acquired methemoglobinemia is a potentially fatal condition that leads to tissue hypoxia. Although the clinical features of methemoglobinemia depend on the methemoglobin levels, the clinical course would differ depending on the causative agents. We attempted to clarify this issue by comparing the clinical course of methemoglobinemia caused by dapsone and that caused by other toxic agents. A retrospective case-control study was performed. All patients with methemoglobinemia and who were admitted to the emergency department (ED) of our hospital from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2014 were included. Of the 34 patients with methemoglobinemia, 15 ingested dapsone (14 with acute overdose and one with chronic therapeutic use) and 19 had been exposed to other toxic agents, such as sodium nitrites, indoxacarb, primaquine, and lidocaine. The clinical characteristics and the course of dapsone-induced and other toxic-agent-induced methemoglobinemia were compared. There was no significant differ...
