Pediatric Methemoglobinemia Workup

  • Author: Michael J Verive, MD; Chief Editor: Max J Coppes, MD, PhD, MBA   more...
 
Updated: Nov 14, 2011
 

Laboratory Studies

  • An arterial blood sample from a patient with methemoglobinemia is characteristically chocolate brown.Note the chocolate brown color of methemoglobinemiNote the chocolate brown color of methemoglobinemia. Tube 1 and tube 2 have a methemoglobin concentration of 70%; tube 3, a concentration of 20%; and tube 4, a normal concentration.
    • Blood that is cyanotic or dark in color due to cardiopulmonary disease turns red upon exposure to oxygen, whereas blood with methemoglobin does not.
    • A quick and easy bedside test is to bubble 100% oxygen in a tube that contains the dark blood. Blood that remains dark likely does so because of the presence of methemoglobin.
    • Another simple test (and one that is less likely to splash potentially infectious blood) is to place 1-2 drops of blood on white filter paper, then evaluate for color change upon exposure to oxygen (this test can be accelerated by gently blowing supplemental oxygen onto the filter paper). Deoxygenated hemoglobin changes from dark red or violet to bright red, whereas methemoglobin remains brown.
  • Serum methemoglobin levels of more than 1% are considered abnormal, although higher levels are commonly encountered in smokers (and patients with long-term exposure to second-hand smoke). Symptomatic individuals usually have levels of more than 40-50%.
  • Serum levels of nitrites or other offending drugs may be determined; however, most of these results are not immediately available, and treatment must not be withheld or delayed pending test results.
  • Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) reductase levels should be checked.
  • Hemoglobin electrophoresis may be needed to confirm hemoglobin M disease.
  • Pulse oximetry may be a useful tool in patient with cyanosis, although its results must be interpreted with caution.
    • The blood is exposed to light using a small probe placed across a capillary bed, usually on a finger or toe. Light wavelengths of 660 nm and 940 nm are used, and the ratio of absorption of light at each of these wavelengths is converted into oxygen saturation using calibration curves.
    • A pulse oximetry reading in a child with respiratory or cardiac disease reflects the degree of hypoxia and is proportionate to the amount of reduced hemoglobin.
    • Methemoglobin increases absorption of light at both wavelengths (more at 940 nm) and, therefore, offers optical interference to the pulse oximetry by falsely absorbing light. This leads to the plateau in the oxygen saturation at 85%.
    • In a patient with methemoglobinemia, the severity of the cyanosis does not correspond to the pulse oximetry reading. The patient may appear extremely cyanotic but have a pulse oximetry reading in the high 80s.
    • In methemoglobinemia, the oxygen saturations (as determined by pulse oximetry) plateau at around 85%; therefore, a patient with a methemoglobin level of 5% and a patient with a methemoglobin level of 40% both have pulse oximetry readings of around 85%.
  • Co-oximetry should be performed to evaluate for methemoglobinemia (although some equipment does not differentiate between sulfhemoglobin and methemoglobin).
Next

Imaging Studies

  • Chest radiography may be helpful to exclude pulmonary or cardiac disease.
  • If needed, use echocardiography to determine the presence of congenital heart disease with right-left (pulmonary-systemic) shunt.
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Michael J Verive, MD  Medical Director, Pediatric Intensive Care, Department of Pediatrics, St Mary's Hospital for Women and Children

Michael J Verive, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Chest Physicians, Pediatric Sedation, and Society of Critical Care Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Mudra Kumar, MD, MBBS, MRCP  Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida College of Medicine

Mudra Kumar, MD, MBBS, MRCP is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics and American Society of Hematology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Sharada A Sarnaik, MBBS  Professor of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine; Director, Sickle Cell Center, Attending Hematologist/Oncologist, Children's Hospital of Michigan

Sharada A Sarnaik, MBBS is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Blood Banks, American Association of University Professors, American Society of Hematology, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, New York Academy of Sciences, and Society for Pediatric Research

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mary L Windle, PharmD  Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Steven K Bergstrom, MD  Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center of Oakland

Steven K Bergstrom, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Oncology Group, and International Society for Experimental Hematology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Samuel Gross, MD  Professor Emeritus, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida; Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina; Adjunct Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University

Samuel Gross, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for Cancer Research, American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, and Society for Pediatric Research

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Max J Coppes, MD, PhD, MBA  Senior Vice President, Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Children's National Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, Oncology, and Pediatrics, Georgetown University School of Medicine; Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Max J Coppes, MD, PhD, MBA is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Society for Pediatric Research

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

The authors and editors of Medscape Reference gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous author Mudra Kumar, MD, MBBS, MRCP, to the original writing and development of this article.

References

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Note the chocolate brown color of methemoglobinemia. Tube 1 and tube 2 have a methemoglobin concentration of 70%; tube 3, a concentration of 20%; and tube 4, a normal concentration.
 
 
 
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