A patient bled green, surprising surgeons. Something from Star Trek? No, simply high doses of Imitrex. Who knew?
The patient had been taking large doses of sumatriptan – 200 milligrams a day.This had caused a rare condition called sulfhaemoglobinaemia, where sulphur is incorporated into the oxygen-carrying compound haemoglobin in red blood cells.
Describing the case in The Lancet, the doctors led by Dr Alana Flexman from St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver wrote: “The patient recovered uneventfully, and stopped taking sumatriptan after discharge.
“When seen five weeks after his last dose, he was found to have no sulfhaemoglobin in his blood.”
Related posts:
- Does the President need blood stored in his limousine?
- Treating the dead
- A fascinating cause of bright green sputum
- A teddy bear blood bag for pediatric blood transfusions
- The complexities of drawing blood
- "Devastating" results for a blood substitute
- Paying for blood donation?
KevinMD.com on Facebook
Comments on this entry are closed.