Pierce the ear and stab the spleen

Abstract

Splenic abscess is a rare but extremely dangerous condition generally spreading from a local, or systemic, focus of infection. We present the case of a young immunocompetent female admitted with sepsis and multiple splenic abscesses. The patient had a recent left ear piercing on the tragus complicated by an ear infection. The presence of a solitary parotid abscess, the absence of other infectious foci on computed tomography scan, the negativity of blood cultures and the absence of endocarditis vegetations led us to think that the most likely culprit was a hematogenous dissemination from the left tragus. The patient was successfully treated with intravenous antibiotics. There had been no need of splenectomy or any other procedure. This rather unique case underscores that splenic abscess should be suspected when a long-lasting fever and pain in the left hypochondrium are present, even when an apparently innocuous invasive procedure, such as a body piercing, is performed.

Keywords

• Antibiotics
• cervical lymphadenopathy
• infection sepsis
• spleen abscess.