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Case Reports
. 2022 Dec 13;15(12):e252954.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2022-252954.

Fatal methaemoglobinemia due to intentional sodium nitrite ingestion

Zachary S Wettstein  1 , Nicole A Yarid  2 , Sachita Shah  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Fatal methaemoglobinemia due to intentional sodium nitrite ingestion

Zachary S Wettstein et al. BMJ Case Rep. .
No abstract available

Keywords: Emergency medicine; Poisoning; Public health; Suicide (psychiatry); Toxicology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Arterial blood gas syringe containing brown-black blood seen in methaemoglobinemia.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Brown discolouration of muscle tissue from fatal sodium nitrite exposure on left, compared with normal muscle appearance on right.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Reduction of methaemoglobin to haemoglobin via the primary pathway, catalysed by cytochrome-B5 reductase (below), in contrast to the methylene blue-dependent alternative pathway via NADPH-methaemoglobin reductase (above). Activation of the alternative pathway requires methylene blue as a cofactor, in the presence of adequate glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). Figure created by authors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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