Splenic abscess. A case report

Abstract

The splenic abscess is not a common illness. There are less than 700 cases described in medical literature since the beginning of the 20th century. The causes described are the contiguous infections at any level of the abdominal cavity, as well as the hematogenic way. Eighty percent of them take place or coincide with systemic sepsis such as: otitis, mastoiditis, peritonsillar abscesses, suppurative parotiditis, cutaneous infections, lung abscesses, appendicitis, diverticulitis, cholecystitis and osteomielytis. A 58 year old female patient, who was admitted to hospital presenting abdominal pain in the upper hemiabdomen, a prolonged fever of 38-39 degrees Celsius and pain on deep palpation in the left hypochondrium, is presented. The patient underwent an abdominal spiral tomography and a hypodense image of 8x6cm in the lower pole of the spleen was seen; it corresponded to a splenic abscess. A splenectomy with a toilet of the splenic cavity was carried out, and a postoperative treatment was implemented. The patient evolved satisfactorily and was discharged the eighth postoperative day.

Keywords

• endocarditis bacteriana/complicaciones
• tomografia computarizada por rayos x
• esplenectomía
• antibióticos/uso terapéutico