Methemoglobinemia by cerium nitrate poisoning.

Cerium nitrate is a topical antiseptic used with silver sulfadiazine (Flammacerium) for the treatment of serious burns. This topical agent can induce methemoglobinemia, but no cases have been reported in the recent literature. In this article, we present the case of a 16-year old girl, with third-degree burns over 95% of her body. After daily dressings of Flammacerium, on the sixth day she developed a bluish skin coloring. When tested for methemoglobinemia, levels of 31.8% were found. These returned to normal after classic treatment with Methylene blue.