Unusual anaphylatoxin dynamics after head injury--case report.

The case reported exemplifies a clinical picture markedly at variance with the chronology of symptoms and laboratory findings generally held to be typical in patients with post-traumatic shock. During a protracted clinical course this young man with a skull fracture and epidural haematoma experienced profound hypotension and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) well in advance of marked fourfold rise of circulating peripheral C3a desArg anaphylatoxin levels. This raises a note of caution with regard to diagnostic and/or therapeutic decisions based on anaphylatoxin assessment of neurosurgical trauma patients at risk of ARDS.