Methylene Blue—Current Knowledge, Fluorescent Properties, and Its Future Use
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic review methodology or meta-analysis.
OpenAlex W3095803259 · doi:10.3390/jcm9113538
What was done
The authors performed a narrative literature review searching PubMed and Medline to summarize the historical, current, and potential future uses of methylene blue in medicine. They specifically examined its role as a fluorophore in five surgical domains: near-infrared visualization of ureters, parathyroid gland identification, pancreatic tumor imaging, breast cancer tumor margin detection, and breast cancer sentinel node biopsy.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, statistics, or comparative outcomes. It notes descriptively that methylene blue is widely used with relatively low patient risk, but its application as a fluorescent imaging agent is in an early stage of adoption.
Why it matters
This review highlights the emerging translation of a long-standing clinical dye into a near-infrared fluorescent tool for real-time surgical guidance.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review without predefined systematic selection criteria, quality appraisal of literature, or quantitative synthesis. No primary clinical or preclinical sample sizes or specific outcome measures are reported.
Cited by
- context Methylene blue was the first drug ever discovered.