A woman born in 1912 (Case 8 in the necropsy series) had an unremarkable family history. In 1940, she first noted blanching and cyanosis of the fingers on exposure to cold. Since 1960, small, hard, subcutaneous nodules developed at different locations on her body. Early in 1968, progressive effort dypsnoea and anginal chest pains started insidiously, and treatment with digitalis, furosemide, an...

A modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (mBTS) is often employed to provide pulmonary blood flow in neonates that are born with cyanotic congenital heart defects. However, acute shunt thrombosis can occur in the postoperative period, resulting in profound cyanosis. In this case report, we describe the utility of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) in the management of a neonate with extreme cyanosi...

Cyanosis is a physical finding that can occur at any age but presents a great challenge as the causes are multiple and varied. When patients present with cyanosis and dyspnoea that are unrelated to cardiopulmonary causes, methaemoglobinaemia should be considered as a possible diagnosis although rare. Methaemoglobinaemia can be asymptomatic even when methaemoglobin (metHb) levels are as high as ...

Nineteen-month-old white male infant presenting with progressive cyanosis since birth. Dyspnea on minimum exertion was observed. Physical examination revealed respiratory distress, severe cyanosis, normal pulses, 45% oxygen saturation, weight of 8900 g, heart rate of 145 bpm, and blood pressure of 90/65 mmHg. The aorta was not palpable. No deformities were observed in the precordium, and the ap...

Acute methemoglobinemia may be caused by topical anesthetics and other oxidizing medications commonly prescribed by Family Physicians. Without knowledge of this potentially lethal condition, delay in diagnosis and treatment is likely. Methemoglobinemia should be considered in any patient presenting with cyanosis, particularly after the use of oxidizing medications. We describe a case of methemo...