TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 57. Infections in Asplenic Children A1 - Yen, Catherine A1 - Ratner, Adam J. A2 - Shah, Samir S. Y1 - 2009 N1 - T2 - Pediatric Practice: Infectious Disease AB - Long thought of as an unessential organ that could be removed without adverse effects, the spleen and its significance in defense against infections were not well recognized until 1952, when King and Shumacker published a seminal paper describing an association between splenectomy and subsequent susceptibility to overwhelming infection.1 Since then, severe infection in asplenic individuals has become a well-known entity, termed postsplenectomy sepsis or overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis. This chapter will provide an overview of the basic functions of the spleen and the infectious complications associated with asplenia. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6912359 ER -