Fulminating pneumococcal septicaemia and meningitis in an adult twenty years after splenectomy for a ruptured spleen.

A nearly fatal course of pneumococcal septicaemia and meningitis in a previously healthy adult, 20 years after splenectomy for a ruptured spleen, is described. This underlines the important role of the spleen in the defence mechanism of the body against pathogenic micro-organisms. Awareness of the existence of this syndrome of overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI) is clinically important. Several aspects of prevention and treatment are discussed in a review of the literature.