ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 July 1977
Page Count: 4

Splenectomy and Sudden Death
Jindrich, EJ
Coroner, Calif.

(Received 8 December 1976; accepted 20 January 1977)

Abstract

Splenectomy has become a relatively common surgical procedure, most frequently performed subsequent to traumatic rupture, incidentally in the course of other surgical procedures, or in the staging or therapy of lymphomas. Occasionally it is a therapeutic modality in a hematologic disorder. Although initially considered to be associated with few serious sequelae, the recent medical literature contains numerous reports of fulminant death from bacteremia (usually Streptococcus pneumoniae) in splenectomized or hyposplenic patients. The following case reports exemplify some aspects of this clinical syndrome.

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Paper ID: JFS10635J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS10635J
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