Acute pulmonary haemorrhage in an infant during induction of general anaesthesia

Pulmonary haemorrhage is a rare, life-threatening complication of anaesthes ia. This report describes the anaesthetic management of an infant who devel oped laryngospasm and pulmonary haemorrhage during general anaesthesia. The infant was subsequently found to have prior exposure to a fungus, Stachybo trys chartarum, which produces mycotoxins that may have produced capillary fragility in the infant's rapidly growing lungs.