Management of Herbicide Induced Methemoglobinemia

Abstract

Methemoglobinemia is an altered state of haemoglobin that leads to impaired oxygen delivery to the body tissues. Deliberate ingestion of certain herbicides may lead to this condition. Modern herbicides are often synthetic mimics of natural plant hormones that interfere with growth of the target plants. These modern herbicides act by various mechanisms some of them being Acetyl co-enzyme A carboxylase inhibition, aceto lactate synthase inhibition, photosystem II inhibition, 4-hydroxy phenyl pyruvate dioxygenase inhibition and so on. We report a case of Methemoglobinemia after deliberate ingestion of an herbicide marketed to be safe and containing only biological extracts and filters. The patient was treated with ascorbic acid successfully. Our paper emphasizes the use of ascorbic acid as an alternative method in the treatment of Methemoglobinemia. Ascorbic acid is the main stay of treatment in patients with G6PD deficiency.