Percutaneous drainage of splenic abscess in typhoid fever--a case report

Salmonella typhi splenic abscesses are a very rare complication of typhoid fever. Splenectomy is the standard surgical treatment for these lesions. But these days, with improvements in imaging techniques, percutaneous drainage of splenic abscesses has been demonstrated to be one of the alternative treatment in selected cases. We report the case of a 7 year-old male, who presented with Salmonella typhi in blood and urine cultures, and a 1: 320 in O titer of Widal test. Ultrasound and computed tomography showed a single splenic abscess, 3 cm in diameter. He was treated with antibiotics, but the symptoms were not relieved. Thus we performed the percutaneous drainage of the splenic abscess under ultrasound guidance. A culture of the aspirated material was positive for Salmonella typhi, and the boy's condition improved. We think that percutaneous drainage of a single lesion was an excellent alternative to surgery, particularly because our patient was young and spleen conservation was desirable.