We report a case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in a 33 year old m
ale who was bitten by a taipan, with apparent massive envenomation. Th
e microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA) and thrombocytopenic aspect
s of his HUS appeared to respond to plasmapheresis, but his anuric ren
al failure persisted. He also had prolonged severe muscular paralysis
which gradually began to resolve over the course of two weeks, At this
point he suffered a cardiac arrest sustaining severe and subsequently
fatal hypoxic brain injury. This case raises the possibility that the
taipan venom may have induced HUS by damaging the renal endothelium.
His cardiac arrest was not apparently related to his HUS.