Successful Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Drainage of Multiple Splenic Abscesses in a Kidney Transplant Patient With...

Differential diagnosis of post-transplant infections should include rare/uncommon foci and pathogens. We present a rare case of life-threatening infection, a splenic abscess in a 53-year-old woman who was transplanted with a cadaveric kidney 5 months previously. The patient was admitted to our clinic with chills, shivering, and fever. She required a kidney transplant because of end-stage renal disease secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus, which had previously been treated by means of peritoneal dialysis for 7 years, until encapsulated sclerosing peritonitis developed, at which time therapy was changed to hemodialysis for 1 year. On physical examination, the patient was slightly lethargic and had tenderness in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. Laboratory evaluation revealed leukocytosis and high acute phase reactant. Abdominal ultrasonography (US) revealed multiple abscesses in the spleen, but splenectomy was not recommended because of her history of sclerosing peritonitis. Percutaneous drainage catheters were placed under US guidance. Culture of blood and fluid drained from the abscess revealed imipenem-sensitive Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. Imipenem (500 mg IV q6hr) was initiated, and the drainage volume was 40 to 50 mL/day in the first week and gradually decreased through the third week. The abscess was completely drained over a period of 6 weeks, as confirmed by computed tomography; percutaneous catheters were then removed. Although splenic abscesses are life-threatening, especially for immunocompromised patients, this case suggests that percutaneous drainage guided by US or computed tomography is an efficient treatment alternative to splenectomy.