A case of severe Plasmodium knowlesi malaria in a post-splenectomy patient

@#Malaria is a parasitic disease that is caused by the Plasmodium parasite. Worldwide, it remains a significant public health problem especially in the Africa region where it contributes to more than 90% of cases and malaria death. However, zoonotic (simian) Plasmodium knowlesi parasite is a widely prevalent cause of malaria in the South East Asian countries. It is known to cause severe human disease due to its 24hour erythrocytic cycles. Thus far, cases of severe falciparum malaria have been reported in asplenic patients. Here, we report a case of severe P.knowlesi malaria in a 51-year-old man who is a postsplenectomy patient.

A Case of Pneumococcal Endocarditis Complicating Overwhelming Postsplenectomy Infection / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

Postsplenectomy patients are susceptible to severe infections due to encapsulated bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae and this condition is widely known as Overwhelming Postsplenectomy Infection (OPSI). OPSI is relatively rare in conditions with rapid progression and high mortality rates. There are very few reports of infective endocarditis from OPSI. A 40-year-old man who underwent splenectomy 20 years before was transported to the emergency room. He had severe heart failure and multiple cerebral embolisms. The echocardiography showed vegetation on the aortic valve and severe regurgitation due to perforation of the non-coronary cusp. We performed aortic valve replacement on an emergent basis. In infected patients after splenectomy, early diagnosis and prompt treatment are desired because of the possibility of rapid progression of sepsis in encapsulated bacteria and poor prognosis.

Clinical characteristics of rare Streptococcal pneumonia disease in children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

The clinical manifestations of Streptococcus pneumoniae disease (SPD) are various,and some patients with rare SPD types have a worse prognosis.Among them,the mortality is up to 70％ after 48-72 hours of the onset of Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP)-related overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI).Purpura fulminans of SP (SP-PF) is often characterized by extensive purpura,fever,hypotension and disseminated intravascular coagulation,and prognosis of the patients without prodromal symptoms is poor.Infectious endocarditis has a mortality rate of 20.7 ％ in SP-related cardiovascular diseases,and Austrian syndrome has a fatality rate of 43.5 ％.The mortality rate of bacterial pericarditis was 13.56％.At present,SP vaccine can not completely cover the 7 serotypes reported.Vasculitis mainly occurs in the thoracic and abdominal aorta and its branches,middle cerebral artery and so on.Of the 8 cases of hemophagocytic syndrome,2 cases died.Early anti-infection,methylprednisolone shock and surgical treatment can improve the prognosis.Vaccination and drug prophylaxis can help those with under-lying diseases such as splenic dysfunction to reduce the incidence of SPD,such as SP-OPSI.

Clinical characteristics of rare Streptococcal pneumonia disease in children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

The clinical manifestations of Streptococcus pneumoniae disease(SPD) are various, and some patients with rare SPD types have a worse prognosis.Among them, the mortality is up to 70% after 48-72 hours of the onset of Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP)-related overwhelming post-splenectomy infection(OPSI). Purpura fulminans of SP(SP-PF) is often characterized by extensive purpura, fever, hypotension and disseminated intravascular coagulation, and prognosis of the patients without prodromal symptoms is poor.Infectious endocarditis has a mortality rate of 20.7% in SP-related cardiovascular diseases, and Austrian syndrome has a fatality rate of 43.5%.The mortality rate of bacterial pericarditis was 13.56%.At present, SP vaccine can not completely cover the 7 serotypes reported.Vasculitis mainly occurs in the thoracic and abdominal aorta and its branches, middle cerebral artery and so on.Of the 8 cases of hemophagocytic syndrome, 2 cases died.Early anti-infection, methylprednisolone shock and surgical treatment can improve the prognosis.Vaccination and drug prophylaxis can help those with under-lying diseases such as splenic dysfunction to reduce the incidence of SPD, such as SP-OPSI.

Clinical features and treatment of 160 cases of liver cirrhosis with portal vein thrombosis / 中华消化杂志

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with liver cirrhosis complicated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and to explore the high risk factors of PVT formation for the prevention and early treatment of PVT.Methods From January 2012 to August 2017,at the Second Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University,160 hospitalized liver cirrhosis patients complicated with PVT were selected as PVT group and secondary PVT caused by other factors were excluded.At the same time,250 patients with liver cirrhosis without PVT were enrolled as the control group.According to the history of splenectomy,the patients were divided into splenectomy group and non-splenectomy group.The risk factors correlated with the formation of PVT such as hemoglobin,platelet count,prothrombin time (PT),international normalized ratio (INR) and prothrombin activity were collected.T test,chisquare test and non-parameter rank test were performed for the comparison of above indexes between PVT group and control group.Single factor analysis and multifactor logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors of PVT formation.Results The average age of patients in PVT group ((54.5 ±11.4) years) was significantly older than that in control group ((51.8±911.9) years,t=2.29,P=0.02).The results of multifactor logistic regression analysis showed that hemoglobin,platelet count,PT and INR were risk factors of PVT formation (all P＜0.05).The proportion of patients with Child-Pugh class C cirrhosis in PVTgroup was higher than that in control group (16.2％,26/160 vs.4.4％,11/250),and the difference was statistically significant (x2 =16.60,P＜0.01).In PVT group,27.5％ (44/160) patients had a history of splenectomy,and 8.4％ (21/250) patients of the control group had a history of splenectomy,and the difference between two groups was statistically significant (x2=26.70,P＜0.01).The platelet counts of patients with splenectomy were higher than those of patients without splenectomy ((176.2±98.7)× 109/L vs.(78.3±57.8) × 109/L),and the difference was statistically significant (t=11.08,P＜0.01).The incidence of complications in PVT group was much higher than that in control group (45.0％,72/160 vs.10.0％,25/250,x2=66.17,P＜0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding and mortality between PVT treatment group and non-treatment group (25.6％,11/43 vs.23.8％,10/42;18.6％,8/43 vs.31.0％,13/42,respectively;both P＞0.05).Conclusions Decreased hemoglobin,increased platelet count,prolonged PT,increased INR and Child-Pugh classification are the risk factors for PVT formation.Increased platelet after splenectomy is an independent risk factor for PVT formation.

Multicenter clinical research of splenic autotransplantation / 实用医学杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical value of splenic autotransplantation in patients with severe splenic trauma. Methods A prospective case-control study were performed in 120 patients with traumatic spleen rupture including the treatment group 72 patients and the control group 48 patients. The treatment group were treated with splenectomy plus spleen autotransplantation and the control group merely under splenectomy. Compare the operation time,operative blood loss,postoperative hospital stay,postoperative complications and the immune indexes before and different period after operation. Results Autologous spleen transplantation takes more time than merely splenectomy(P<0.05),but the operative blood loss,postoperative hospital stay and postopera-tive complications were no significant difference. 1 days after operation,the immune indexes of two groups were significantly lower than those before operation(P < 0.05),and 1 week after operation the immune indexes of two groups were significantly elevated(P<0.05).The immune indexes of the treatment group were better than those of the control group 3 months after operation(P < 0.05),and there was no significant difference compared with preoperative. Conclusion Splenectomy cause the decrease in the immune function,but the immune function can quickly rise to a certain level in short term.The splenic autotransplantation can effectively restore the immune func-tion to the preoperative level.

Síndrome de sepsis grave postesplenectomía secundario a meningococcemia / Overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI) syndrome secondary to meningococcemia

Resumen Los pacientes esplenectomizados o con hipoesplenia son susceptibles a desarrollar infecciones y sepsis grave. A esta entidad se le denomina sídrome de sepsis postesplenectomía (SSPE). Reportamos el caso de una paciente que presentó SSPE secundario a Neisseria meningitidis serogrupo CR7, 10 años después de practicársele esplenectomía por púrpura trombocitopénica idiopática. El SSPE tiene una elevada mortalidad, su evolución es fulminante, las manifestaciones son graves y el pronóstico es malo. Es fundamental que los pacientes esplenectomizados sean vacunados, reciban antibióticos profilácticos y atención médica ante cualquier manifestación de un proceso infeccioso. Es prioritario implementar una política de salud pública para el desarrollo de guías relacionadas al seguimiento de los pacientes esplenectomizados y sobre la profilaxis, diagnóstico y manejo del SSPE, y difundir entre los pacientes esplenectomizados y con disfunción esplénica así como al grupo médico tratante programas educacionales relacionados con esta enfermedad.

Abstract Patients with splenectomy or splenic dysfunction are likely to suffer from severe infections and sepsis. This syndrome is called overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI). We present the case of an adult who developed OPSI syndrome secondary to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup CR 7, ten years after being splenectomized due to idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. OPSI syndrome has a high mortality. Its course is fulminating, the clinical symptoms are serious and the prognosis is poor. It is important for splenectomized patients to receive immunizations, antibiotic prophylaxis and seek medical attention at the earliest sign of minor infection. Public health politics should be implemented for the development of guidelines related to the monitoring of splenecto-mized patients and prophylaxis, diagnosis and treatment of OPSI syndrome and make reliable information on this disease available to patients and physicians.

Prolonged Extreme Thrombocytosis in a Postsplenectomy Patient with Hereditary Spherocytosis

We report a case of prolonged extreme reactive thrombocytosis in a post-splenectomy patient with hereditary spherocytosis. A 29-year-old female patient presented with gall stones detected incidentally by abdominal ultrasonography. Her laboratory findings showed hemolytic anemia with spherocytosis on the peripheral blood smear and increased osmotic fragility. She was diagnosed with hereditary spherocytosis and underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and splenectomy. After undergoing surgery, the hemolytic anemia was resolved but thrombocytosis was newly detected. Nineteen months after the splenectomy, the thrombocytosis was still persistent and extremely high. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a prolonged extreme reactive thrombocytosis after a splenectomy in Korea.

Cases of Opsi syndrome still candidate for medical ICU

Splenectomized patients are likely to suffer from severe infections, such as sepsis and meningitis, which is called overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI) syndrome. It seems to be more common in children, but occurs at all ages. The risk is greatest in the early months and years after operation, but never disappears entirely. The course is rapid, the clinical symptoms are serious, and the prognosis is very poor. In this paper, three cases of OPSI syndrome are described, in which infection developed 8, 8 and 15 years after splenectomy; two of the patients died. With the help of these case reports, we want to again emphasize the importance of vaccination, antibiotic prophylaxis and seeking earlier medical attention in splenectomized patients.

Splenectomy in Children

In Korea, studies of splenectomies are mainly performed in adult groups, but a review of splenectomies in children is significant because the indications of a splenectomy and the importance of the spleen in children are different from those in adults. The authors reviewed 51 cases of splenectomies performed between January 1986 and April 1996 on children under 15 years of age. The indications of the splenectomy were divided based on hematologic diseases (37) and non-hematologic diseases (14). For the hematologic diseases, hereditary spherocytosis (24) was the most common indication of a splenectomy and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (11) was the next most common. For the non-hematologic diseases, trauma (10) was the most common indication of a splenectomy. After the splenectomy, abnormal hematologic findings were improved in all hereditary spherocytosis patients and in nine of the idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura patients (82%). To prevent postsplenectomy sepsis, 27 patients received antibiotic medication, but no one received a pneumococcal vaccination. One case of postsplenectomy sepsis occurred in a patient who had not received antibiotic medication. This study suggests that a splenectomy provides efficacious treatment for a number of pediatric disorders, but it is associated with a risk of postsplenectomy sepsis.