Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2015 Sep 3:2015:bcr2015210619.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2015-210619.

The painted shoes

Natália Noronha  1 , André Rosa Alexandre  2 , Joana Cavaca Santos  1 , Fernanda Rodrigues  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

The painted shoes

Natália Noronha et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Erratum in

  • Correction.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] BMJ Case Rep. 2015 Nov 9;2015:bcr2015210619corr1. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2015-210619corr1. BMJ Case Rep. 2015. PMID: 26552876 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

A previously well 4-year-old boy presented to the emergency room with progressive cyanosis, pallor and vomiting over the last 5 h. Oxygen saturation on pulse oximetry was 87-89% despite 9 L/min of supplemental oxygen. He was tachypnoeic and had a systolic heart murmur, with no other findings on clinical examination. In his medical history, there was record of a restrictive atrial septal defect, with a normal echocardiogram from 3 years before. He had no relevant family history. His shoes appeared to have been recently painted, which raised the suspicion of methaemoglobinaemia, presumptively caused by aniline-containing shoe dye. The shoes were removed promptly and his feet washed profusely. After confirming the diagnosis, methylene blue was started. The level of methaemoglobin decreased rapidly and the boy made a full recovery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Lip cyanosis during the religious procession.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Skin pallor and central cyanosis in the emergency room.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Recently painted shoes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Chocolate-brown discolouration of the arterial blood.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lees MH. Cyanosis of the newborn infant. Recognition and clinical evaluation. J Pediatr 1970;77:484–98. - PubMed
    1. Awasthy N, Khan N, Radhakrishnan S. Methemoglobinemia: arterial blood gas as a diagnostic tool. Indian Hear J 2014;66:394–5. 10.1016/j.ihj.2014.03.019 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rizvi I, Zaman S, Zaidi N et al. . Acute life-threatening methaemoglobinaemia following ingestion of chloroquine. BMJ Case Rep 2012;2012:pii:bcr1220115383 10.1136/bcr.12.2011.5383 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nabukeera-Barungi N, Mworozi E. Sudden onset methaemoglobinaemia in a previously well Ugandan child: a case report and literature review. Pan Afr Med J 2012;11:49. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee CH, Kim SH, Kwon DH et al. . Two cases of methemoglobinemia induced by the exposure to nitrobenzene and aniline. Ann Occup Env Med 2013;25:31–5. 10.1186/2052-4374-25-31 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms