[Acquired methemoglobinaemia (author's transl)].

Authors report five cases of toxic methemoglobinaemia. Four of them were observed in newborns and the remaining one in a toddler. Acute gastroenteritis, carrot soup and spinachs were recognized as etiologic factors. Up-dated information about this clinical entity, its gasometric diagnosis, hemoglobin spectrophotometry and treatment with methylene blue is briefly recalled.