Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2009 Apr;91(3):W1-2.
doi: 10.1308/147870809X400949.

Diagnostic splenectomy for visceral leishmaniasis

H Pickering  1 , R Bethune, I A Eyre-Brook
Affiliations
Case Reports

Diagnostic splenectomy for visceral leishmaniasis

H Pickering et al. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

A 57-year-old-man with a history of malaise, fever, night sweats and shortness of breath presented a diagnostic challenge to his medical team. He was pancytopaenic and had splenomegaly on admission but other investigations, including bone marrow aspiration, proved inconclusive. After the patient deteriorated clinically, the general surgical team was requested to perform a diagnostic splenectomy. The histology of this showed infection with visceral leishmaniasis. He recovered completely with Amphotericin treatment. Although this is a rare condition, particularly for the general surgeon, this case highlights the difficult position surgeons are often put in when performing major surgery diagnostically.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Schistosoma mansoni Eggs in Spleen and Lungs, Mimicking Other Diseases.
    Gobbi F, Martelli G, Attard L, Buonfrate D, Angheben A, Marchese V, Bortesi L, Gobbo M, Vanino E, Viale P, Bisoffi Z. Gobbi F, et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 Jul 23;9(7):e0003860. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003860. eCollection 2015 Jul. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015. PMID: 26204263 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Malik A, John L, Bryceson A, Lockwood D. Changing pattern of visceral leishmaniasis, United Kingdom, 1985–2004. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:1257–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Da Dilva MR, Stewart JM, Costa CH. Sensitivity of bone marrow aspirates in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. Am J Trop Med Hygiene. 2005;72:811–4. - PubMed
    1. Chappuis F, Rijal S, Soto A, Menten J, Boelaert M. Ameta-analysis of the diagnostic performance of the direct agglutination test and rK39 dipstick for visceral leishmaniasis. BMJ. 2006;333:723–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Singh S, Sivakumar R. Recent advances in the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. J Postgrad Med. 2003;49:55–60. - PubMed
    1. Sundar S, Chakravarty J, Rai V. Amphotericin B treatment for Indian visceral leishmaniasis: response to 15 daily versus alternate-day infusions. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;45:556–61. - PubMed

Publication types