Abstract
Topical and local anesthetics are employed during minor invasive procedures to increase patient tolerance and to reduce the need for intravenous sedation. A potentially fatal complication of these anesthetics is methemoglobinemia (Met-Hgb). Met-Hgb should be suspected in patients with cyanosis that does not respond to administration of oxygen and who have a discrepancy in oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry compared with the arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) determined by blood gas analysis. We present a patient who developed life-threatening Met-Hgb from the local anesthesia required during percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 373-376 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Tennessee medicine : journal of the Tennessee Medical Association |
Volume | 96 |
Issue number | 8 |
State | Published - Aug 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine