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Hyposplenism/Splenectomy

Dysfunction of the spleen makes patients more susceptible to enapsulated oragnisms, which includes haemophilus, pneumococcus, and meningococcus.


It's very important for all of these patients to be given vaccines against these organisms.


Investigations:

  • Blood film - Howell–Jolly bodies

  • Bloods - Low Hb + Raised reticulocyte count

“A Howell-Jolly body: A small, round inclusion seen in an erythrocyte.” © Paulo Henrique Orlandi Mourao and Mikael Häggström CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

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