Characterization of Postsplenectomy Bacteremia among Patients with and without Lymphoma

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Abstract
The medical records of 494 patients who underwent splenectomy, including 269 patients with lymphoma, were analyzed for the occurrence of postsplenectomy bacteremia. Twenty-three episodes of bacteremia were identified among patients in the nonlymphoma group, and 12 episodes in the lymphoma group. Five cases of pneumococcal bacteremia were identified, and all occurred in patients with lymphoma. The fatality rate did not differ among patients with or without lymphoma in whom bacteremia developed after splenectomy. The findings do not indicate that splenectomy alters the fatality rate in patients with serious associated disease in whom bacteremia subsequently develops.