Persistent cyanosis in a 4 month old infant with severe pneumonia and haemoglobin M

M Hütten; E Kohne; E Yagmur; T Schaible; T Wenzl; N Wagner; K Heimann

doi:10.1055/s-0028-1104597

Persistent cyanosis in a 4 month old infant with severe pneumonia and haemoglobin M

Klin Padiatr. 2009 Sep;221(5):305-7. doi: 10.1055/s-0028-1104597. Epub 2009 Feb 6.

Authors

M Hütten¹, E Kohne, E Yagmur, T Schaible, T Wenzl, N Wagner, K Heimann

Affiliation

¹ Department for Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Section for Neonatology and Conservative Paediatric Intensive Care, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. mhuetten@ukaachen.de

PMID: 19199228
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1104597

Abstract

M haemoglobinaemia is a rare cause of persistant cyanosis. We report a four months old infant who suffered from severe pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome. After return of normal respiration, cyanosis persisted. Oxygen saturation on pulse oximetry never exceeded 85%. Finally, we succeeded in isolating a haemoglobin M Saskatoon. HbM Saskatoon is normally a harmless variant. However, in conjunction with severe pneumonia, we assume that it did not only affect clinical evaluation, but also exacerbated pneumonia by reducing the oxygen binding capacity.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Cyanosis / blood
Cyanosis / etiology*
Cyanosis / therapy
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Hemoglobinopathies / blood
Hemoglobinopathies / diagnosis*
Hemoglobinopathies / genetics*
Hemoglobinopathies / therapy
Hemoglobins, Abnormal / genetics*
High-Frequency Ventilation
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Oximetry
Pneumonia / blood
Pneumonia / diagnosis*
Pneumonia / therapy
Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / blood
Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / diagnosis
Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / genetics*
Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / therapy

Substances

Hemoglobins, Abnormal
hemoglobin Saskatoon