Acquired methemoglobinemia in infants.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to determine the etiologic factors of acquired methemoglobinemia in infants younger than three months in our region.


METHODS
This study was carried out retrospectively in infants with methemoglobinemia admitted to Karadeniz Technical University, Pediatric Clinic, during the period 2000-2009. Infants with methemoglobinemia were identified according to the medical records or ICD-10 code.


RESULTS
Nine infants with acquired methemoglobinemia (8 male, 1 female) were included in the study. Seven cases were associated with the use of prilocaine for circumcision, one case with the use of prilocaine-lidocaine for local pain therapy, and one case with neonatal sepsis caused by Staphylococcus aureus.


CONCLUSIONS
Prilocaine should not be used in infants less than three months of age because of the risk of methemoglobinemia. Ascorbic acid is an effective therapy if methylene blue is not obtained. It should not be forgotten that sepsis caused by S. aureus may cause methemoglobinemia in infants.
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey Phone: +90 462 377 55 68 E-mail: drmehmetmutlu38@hotmail.com.
Mehmet
M
Mutlu
Erol
E
Erduran
Yakup
Y
Aslan