Blood nitrates and infantile methemoglobinemia.

Infantile methemoglobinemia is of much more frequent occurrence among hospitalized newborns and young infants than is generally appreciated. When present, acute diarrhoea of different etiologies is almost exclusively the cause of hospitalization. No correlation between this condition and ingestion of food or water containing high concentrations of nitrates or nitrites was found. This study demonstrates for the first time that high blood nitrates are a regular part of the syndrome. The evidence presented is interpreted as indicating that diarrhoea results in endogenous, de novo synthesis of nitrites, and this is the principal cause of infantile methemoglobinemia.