Polymorphonuclear neutrophil function and infections following splenectomy in childhood

22 subjects were controlled 3-23 yr after splenectomy due to childhood trauma (10), idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (9) or congenital spherocytosis (3). The control comprised a history of infections, physical examination, routine hematologic values, determinations of serum immunoglobulins, evaluation of complement activities, cultivations from throat and nasopharynx and polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) function tests. 14 patients (63%) had increased susceptibility to recurrent bacterial infections (SBI), most often tonsillitis. All these patients also had abnormal PMN function. The other 8 patients with normal susceptibility to infections showed essentially normal PMN function. There were no differences between these groups with regard to indication for splenectomy, age at splenectomy or the time interval after splenectomy. This abnormal PMN function may explain the raised susceptibility to infections.