Acute methemoglobinemia after a blast injury: a case report

Methemoglobin is a structurally modified form of hemoglobin incapable binding oxygen, and elevated levels methemoglobin cause tissue hypoxia. Occupational exposure to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, commonly called trinitrotoluene, causes methemoglobinemia. This case report describes 27-year-old male sergeant who developed methemoglobinemia upon trinitrotoluene after blast injury while welding the walls tank shells. first its kind in Korea. The patient had multiple burns his abdomen open fractures right leg. While body temperature, heart rate, respiratory arterial blood pressure, chest X-ray were normal, gas analysis revealed acute (methemoglobinemia concentration, 13.5%; oxygen saturation, 92.0%), probably caused by nitroglycerin exposure. Aspiration adsorption through skin system suspected be routes entry. His normalized 4 days treating wounds surgically, administering therapy, performing transfusion.