- Sulfhemoglobinaemia
Sulfhemoglobinaemia is a rare blood condition that occurs when a
sulfur atom is incorporated into thehemoglobin molecule. Whenhydrogen sulfide (H2S) (orsulfide ion s) andferric ions combine in the blood, theblood is incapable of carryingoxygen . This can be caused by taking medications that containsulfonamide s under certain conditions (i.e.: overdosing ofsumatriptan ).Symptom s include a blueish or greenish discoloration of the blood,skin , andmucous membrane s, even though a blood count test may not show any abnormalities in the blood.On June 11, 2007, Canadian surgeons Dr. Stephan Schwarz and Dr. Alana Flexman presented an unusual case in "
The Lancet ".Fact|date=September 2007 A 42-year-old male patient was brought into Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital after falling asleep in a sitting position. When doctors drew the man's blood to relieve pressure from his legs, the blood was green. A sample of the blood was immediately sent to a lab. In this case, sulfhemoglobinaemia was likely caused by the patient taking higher-than-prescribed doses of sumatriptan.References
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,280637,00.html News Article]
* [http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Sulfhemoglobinaemia Biology Online]
* [http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?sulfhemoglobinaemia Cancer Web Project Online Medical Dictionary]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.