Splenic abscess: a review of 22 cases in a single institution

To describe the demographics, clinical features, etiology, imaging findings, bacteriologic profile, treatment and outcome in patients presenting splenic abscess in a European tertiary hospital.

Review of the medical charts of patients in whom splenic abscess was diagnosed at a tertiary hospital in Madrid (Spain) within a nine-year period.

Twenty-two cases (13 males, 9 females) were found. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the most frequent causative microorganism, accounting for 8 cases, and immunosuppression the main predisposing factor (in 63.6% of the patients). Symptoms were quite unspecific, leading to a long, median time until diagnosis (17 days). The overall mortality rate was 18.2% and it was 25% in patients with tuberculosis and 14.28% in patients with other causes of splenic abscesses (p=0.6).

Immunosuppressed states are the predisposing condition for splenic abscess in almost two thirds of the patients. We found a higher percentage of M. tuberculosis than that previously reported in the English literature.