Infectious outcomes after splenectomy for trauma, splenectomy for disease and splenectomy with distal pancreatectomy

The spleen provides a unique immune function in its production of opsins directed against encapsulated bacteria. Splenectomy, therefore, increases the risk of infections in patients as well as post-operative complications. This study aims to assess the risk of post-operative complications within 5 years of splenectomy by indication for splenectomy: trauma, disease, or in association with a distal pancreatectomy for pancreatic disease. The relationship between vaccination and infectious outcomes was also investigated.

This study is a review of splenectomy cases between June 2005 and June 2015 at a single institution. Infection, splenectomy indication, and vaccination history were identified from electronic medical records and lab test confirmations. Data was analyzed using Student's t test for continuous variables, the Mann-Whitney U test for ordinal variables, and a Chi-square/Fisher exact test for categorical variables.

A total of 106 splenectomy patients were included: 35 traumatic (74% male) and 71 non-traumatic causes (42% male) with no significant difference in age. There were no statistical differences in complications during splenectomy and vaccination administration between the splenectomy indication groups: trauma, disease, and with distal pancreatectomy. There was a statistically significant higher infection rate within 5 years post-splenectomy in the non-traumatic vs traumatic group (42% vs 14.0%, p = 0.0040) with majority gastrointestinal (7/38) and respiratory (5/38) and surgical wound infections (3/38) observed in non-traumatic versus traumatic, respectively.

Results from data analysis show a statistically significant difference in rates of infection within 5 years post-operatively between traumatic versus non-traumatic indications for splenectomies, with the non-traumatic group experiencing a higher rate of infectious outcomes. The non-traumatic group included patients with disease and distal pancreatectomy indications. This suggests that patients who have non-traumatic causes may be at a higher risk of developing infections following splenectomy procedure. Additionally, vaccinations did not appear to have a protective effect.