TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Infections in Asplenic Children A1 - Top, Karina A. A1 - Langley, Joanne M. A2 - Shah, Samir S. A2 - Kemper, Alex R. A2 - Ratner, Adam J. PY - 2019 T2 - Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Essentials for Practice, 2e AB - Once regarded as an unessential organ that could be removed without adverse effects, the spleen and its significance in host 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 postsplenectomy infection. This chapter provides an overview of the basic functions of the spleen and the infectious complications associated with asplenia and hyposplenia. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1157323708 ER -