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In this unnatural case of a 42 year old man with green blood, the doctors found out that it was due to a rare condition called sulfhaemoglobinaemia, where sulphur is included into the oxygen-carrying compound haemoglobin in red blood cells. The source of sulphur was the large doses of sumatriptan – 200 milligrams a day that the man had been taking for migraine.
The man had undergone an urgent surgery because he had developed a dangerous condition in his legs by sleeping in a sitting position. Asciotomies – limb-saving procedures were conducted on the man, which involved making surgical incisions to relieve pressure and swelling caused by the man’s condition, known as compartment syndrome. The syndrome involves swelling and pressure in a restricted space which limits blood flow and causes localized tissues and damage to the nerves. The reason behind this syndrome is trauma, internal bleeding or a wound dressing.
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According to Dr Alana Flexman from St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, the recovery of the patient was uneventful and since he had stopped the dosage of sumatriptan after surgery, after five weeks, no sulfhaemoglobin was found in his blood.
