On June 18, the City Children's Hospital said that the unit had just treated patient P.T.M (16 months old, Long An) who was purple and severe due to methemoglobin in the blood.
The patient's family said that at noon of the same day of admission, the children ate crab and spinach and were ground to cook soup with rice, and used well water to cook. After eating for about 1 hour, while playing, the child showed signs of shaking, purple lips and purple skin. The family took the child for examination.
During the disease, no signs of invasive syndrome suggesting foreign objects in the airways such as a cough and sores were recorded. The patient has not recorded any allergies to drugs, food or cardiovascular disease.
The child was admitted to the hospital in a state of agitation, no fever, no wheezing, no shortness of breath, no vomiting, purple lips, no signs of mucous membranes, no skin rash, skin blue purple all over the body, no signs of dehydration, natural hand and foot movements during examination.
chest X-ray did not show any intensity. The supercardiovascular ultrasound has not recorded any abnormalities.
The child was diagnosed with purple for unknown reasons and monitored for Methem globin in the blood. Checking blood samples in contact with air shows that the child has methemoglobin in the blood (red blood cells containing Ham F3+ cannot be bound to oxygen to turn to pink blood).
The child was treated with oxygen, injected with methylene green detox drug, and taken activated charcoal to remove the poison from the digestive tract. The results after the methylene green injection in 5 - 10 minutes of rapid pinkness, SpO2 increased from 75% to 95% after 30 minutes.
Through this case, Dr. Nguyen Minh Tien - Deputy Director of the City Children's Hospital recommends that parents be careful when using well water for cooking.
The well water is rich in nitrates (NO3-), an oxidant that converts hem F2+ red blood cell into F3+ and is unable to attach oxygen to the body's tissue for use, leading to a lack of purple oxygen, a lack of tissue oxygen, causing gas exchange, increasing blood lacatate, and metastasizing. It is best to use tap water safely.
Some fruits and vegetables such as amaranth, amaranth... have a high nitrate content, when using water cooked from this type to make milk for breastfeeding can cause methemoglobin in the blood, especially in newborns with underage months.
