Blue baby syndrome (or simply,
blue baby) is a
laymanA "layman" is a person who is a non-expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originated from "laity", but over the centuries, shifted in definition....
's term used to describe newborns with
cyanoticCyanosis is a blue coloration of the skin and mucous membranes due to the presence of > 5g/dl deoxygenated hemoglobin in blood vessels near the skin surface....
conditions, such as
- Cyanotic heart defect
A cyanotic heart defect is a group-type of congenital heart defects . The patient appears blue , due to deoxygenated blood bypassing the lungs and entering the systemic circulation...
s
- Tetralogy of Fallot
Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect which is classically understood to involve four anatomical abnormalities...
- Dextro-Transposition of the great arteries
dextro-Transposition of the great arteries , sometimes also referred to as complete transposition of the great arteries, is a cyanotic congenital heart defect in which the primary arteries are transposed.In segmental analysis, this condition is described...
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome , is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped.-Causes:While many authorities believe the cause of HLHS is unknown,...
- Tricuspid atresia
Tricuspid atresia is a form of congenital heart disease whereby there is a complete absence of the tricuspid valve. Therefore, there is an absence of right atrioventricular connection. This leads to a hypoplastic or absent right ventricle....
- Methemoglobinemia
Methemoglobinemia is a disorder characterized by the presence of a higher than normal level of methemoglobin in the blood. Methemoglobin is a form of hemoglobin that does not bind oxygen. When its concentration is elevated in red blood cells, tissue hypoxia can occur.-Overview:Normally,...
- Respiratory distress syndrome
There are two forms of respiratory distress syndrome:* ARDS, which is acute respiratory distress syndrome* Infant respiratory distress syndrome , which is a complication of premature birth, also known as hyaline membrane disease Also, respiratory distress can mean:* Shortness of breath*...
Blue baby syndrome can also be caused by
MethemoglobinemiaMethemoglobinemia is a disorder characterized by the presence of a higher than normal level of methemoglobin in the blood. Methemoglobin is a form of hemoglobin that does not bind oxygen. When its concentration is elevated in red blood cells, tissue hypoxia can occur.-Overview:Normally,...
. It is caused by high nitrate contamination in ground water resulting in
decreased oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin in babies leading to death.
Blue baby syndrome (or simply,
blue baby) is a
laymanA "layman" is a person who is a non-expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originated from "laity", but over the centuries, shifted in definition....
's term used to describe newborns with
cyanoticCyanosis is a blue coloration of the skin and mucous membranes due to the presence of > 5g/dl deoxygenated hemoglobin in blood vessels near the skin surface....
conditions, such as
- Cyanotic heart defect
A cyanotic heart defect is a group-type of congenital heart defects . The patient appears blue , due to deoxygenated blood bypassing the lungs and entering the systemic circulation...
s
- Tetralogy of Fallot
Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect which is classically understood to involve four anatomical abnormalities...
- Dextro-Transposition of the great arteries
dextro-Transposition of the great arteries , sometimes also referred to as complete transposition of the great arteries, is a cyanotic congenital heart defect in which the primary arteries are transposed.In segmental analysis, this condition is described...
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome , is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped.-Causes:While many authorities believe the cause of HLHS is unknown,...
- Tricuspid atresia
Tricuspid atresia is a form of congenital heart disease whereby there is a complete absence of the tricuspid valve. Therefore, there is an absence of right atrioventricular connection. This leads to a hypoplastic or absent right ventricle....
- Methemoglobinemia
Methemoglobinemia is a disorder characterized by the presence of a higher than normal level of methemoglobin in the blood. Methemoglobin is a form of hemoglobin that does not bind oxygen. When its concentration is elevated in red blood cells, tissue hypoxia can occur.-Overview:Normally,...
- Respiratory distress syndrome
There are two forms of respiratory distress syndrome:* ARDS, which is acute respiratory distress syndrome* Infant respiratory distress syndrome , which is a complication of premature birth, also known as hyaline membrane disease Also, respiratory distress can mean:* Shortness of breath*...
Blue baby syndrome can also be caused by
MethemoglobinemiaMethemoglobinemia is a disorder characterized by the presence of a higher than normal level of methemoglobin in the blood. Methemoglobin is a form of hemoglobin that does not bind oxygen. When its concentration is elevated in red blood cells, tissue hypoxia can occur.-Overview:Normally,...
. It is caused by high nitrate contamination in ground water resulting in
decreased oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin in babies leading to death. The groundwater gets contaminated by leaching of nitrate generated from fertilizer used in agricultural lands and waste dumps . It may also be related to some pesticides (DDT, PCBs etc), which cause ecotoxicological problems in the food chains of living organisms, increasing
BODBiochemical oxygen demand or BOD is a chemical procedure for determining the rate of uptake of dissolved oxygen by the rate biological organisms in a body of water use up oxygen. It is not a precise quantitative test, although it is widely used as an indication of the quality of water.BOD can be...
, which kills aquatic animals.
Surgery
On November 29, 1944, the
Johns Hopkins HospitalThe Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
was the first to successfully perform an operation to relieve
Tetralogy of FallotTetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect which is classically understood to involve four anatomical abnormalities...
. The syndrome was brought to the attention of surgeon
Alfred BlalockAlfred Blalock was a 20th-century American surgeon in the field of medical science most noted for his research on the medical condition of shock and the development of the Blalock-Taussig Shunt, surgical relief of the cyanosis from Tetralogy of Fallot—known commonly as the blue baby syndrome—with...
and his laboratory assistant
Vivien ThomasDr. Vivien Theodore Thomas was an African-American surgical technician and animal surgeon who developed in the canine model the procedures used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s...
in 1943 by pediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig, who had treated hundreds of children with
Tetralogy of FallotTetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect which is classically understood to involve four anatomical abnormalities...
in her work at Hopkins' Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children. The two men adapted a surgical procedure they had earlier developed for another purpose, involving the
anastomosisAn anastomosis is a network of streams that both branch out and reconnect, such as blood vessels or leaf veins. The term is used in medicine, biology, mycology and geology.-Medicine:...
, or joining, of the
subclavian arteryIn human anatomy, the subclavian artery is a major artery of the upper thorax that mainly supplies blood to the head and arms. It is located below the clavicle, hence the name...
to the
pulmonary arteryThe pulmonary arteries carry blood from heart to the lungs. They are the only arteries that carry deoxygenated blood....
, which allowed the blood another chance to become
oxygenOxygen Oxygen Oxygen (acid, literally "sharp", from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O...
ated. The procedure became known as the
Blalock-Taussig shuntThe Blalock-Taussig shunt is a surgical procedure to give palliation to cyanotic heart defects which are common causes of blue baby syndrome...
, although in recent years the contribution of
Vivien ThomasDr. Vivien Theodore Thomas was an African-American surgical technician and animal surgeon who developed in the canine model the procedures used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s...
, both experimentally and clinically, has been widely acknowledged.
External links