What is a Hyposplenic state?
The impairment of splenic function is defined as hyposplenism, an acquired disorder caused by several haematological and immunological diseases. The term asplenia refers to the absence of the spleen, a condition that is rarely congenital and mostly post-surgical.
What does asplenic mean?
Asplenia means the absence of a spleen. Asplenia can occur in a variety of clinical settings, and it can refer to an anatomic absence of the spleen or functional asplenia secondary to a variety of disease states. The spleen is one of the primary extramedullary lymphoid organs.
What causes asplenic?
Anatomic asplenia is most often due to surgical removal of the spleen. Functional asplenia and hyposplenism result from conditions that lead to atrophy, infarction, engorgement, or infiltration of the spleen.
What does functional asplenia mean?
Medical genetics. Functional asplenia occurs when splenic tissue is present but does not work well (e.g. sickle-cell disease, polysplenia) -such patients are managed as if asplenic-, while in anatomic asplenia, the spleen itself is absent.
How do I know if I have hyposplenism?
Functional hyposplenism is diagnosed by the presence of Howell-Jolly bodies and pitted erythrocytes in the peripheral blood smear, and by nuclear imaging modalities such as spleen scintigraphy with the use of Technetium-99m and/or spleen scintigraphy with the use of heat-damaged Technetium-99m labeled erythrocytes.
What are the symptoms of hyposplenism?
Symptoms can include headache, weakness, shortness of breath, and feeling cold.
How common is asplenia?
Its role in preventing infections includes the ability to trigger innate and adaptive immune responses to pathogens, including encapsulated bacteria. Currently, an estimated 1 million individuals in the United States are asplenic or hyposplenic, with ∼100 000 cases being due to sickle cell disease.
Is asplenia genetic?
Isolated congenital asplenia caused by mutations in the RPSA gene is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the disorder. In most cases, an affected person inherits the mutation from one affected parent .
Is asplenia syndrome genetic?
Can I live without a spleen?
The spleen is a fist-sized organ in the upper left side of your abdomen, next to your stomach and behind your left ribs. It’s an important part of your immune system, but you can survive without it. This is because the liver can take over many of the spleen’s functions.
Why are people born without spleen?
Asplenia can either be congenital, where a person is born without a spleen or the result of a splenectomy, where the spleen is removed for a particular reason. Some reasons for undergoing a splenectomy include problems arising from trauma to the spleen or an enlarged spleen.
What is it called if you have no spleen?
Isolated congenital asplenia is a condition in which affected individuals are missing their spleen (asplenia) but have no other developmental abnormalities. While most individuals with this condition have no spleen at all, some people have a very small, nonfunctional spleen (hyposplenism).
What are 3 diseases that affect the spleen?
Blood cancers, such as leukemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms, and lymphomas, such as Hodgkin’s disease. Metabolic disorders, such as Gaucher disease and Niemann-Pick disease. Pressure on the veins in the spleen or liver or a blood clot in these veins. Autoimmune conditions, such as lupus or sarcoidosis.
What do spleen problems feel like?
Spleen pain is usually felt as a pain behind your left ribs. It may be tender when you touch the area. This can be a sign of a damaged, ruptured or enlarged spleen.
How is hyposplenism diagnosed?
Hyposplenism is relatively easy to recognize by typical changes observed on the peripheral blood smear; including Howell-Jolly bodies, monocytosis, lymphocytosis, and increased platelet counts. Diagnosis can be confirmed by pitted RBC counts or 99Tc-labelled radiocolloid scan of the spleen; wherever available.
What vaccines should asplenic patients need?
Asplenia and Adult Vaccination
Tdap vaccine to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Hib vaccine to protect against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) if you were not previously vaccinated with the vaccine. Pneumococcal vaccine(s) to protect against pneumonia and other serious pneumococcal diseases.
What happens without a spleen?
If the spleen does not work properly, it may start to remove healthy blood cells. This can lead to: anaemia, from a reduced number of red blood cells. an increased risk of infection, from a reduced number of white blood cells.
Is splenectomy a disability?
38 C.F.R. § 4.7. Under Diagnostic Code 7706, a splenectomy warrants a 20 percent disability rating. This diagnostic code also provides the instruction to rate complications such as systemic infections with encapsulated bacteria separately.
What food is good for spleen?
Foods to eat and avoid
- Fruits: berries, citrus fruits, cherries, bananas, apples.
- Vegetables: spinach, broccoli, asparagus, peppers.
- Starchy vegetables: sweet potatoes, butternut squash.
- Whole grains: oats, quinoa, brown rice, barley.
- Healthy fats: olive oil, avocados, full fat yogurt, unsweetened coconut.
What organ takes over after spleen removal?
Living without a spleen. If your spleen needs to be removed, other organs such as the liver can take over many of the spleen’s functions. This means you will still be able to cope with most infections. However, there is a small risk that a serious infection may develop quickly.
Can a spleen grow back?
Unlike some other organs, like the liver, the spleen does not grow back (regenerate) after it is removed. Up to 30% of people have a second spleen (called an accessory spleen). These are usually very small, but may grow and function when the main spleen is removed.
What is spleen pain like?
What foods heal the spleen?
Moderate quantities of cereals and pulses sustain good spleen function. Rice, wheat, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, lentils, dried beans, chickpeas and peas of all kinds should be eaten everyday. They can be accompanied by generous portions of vegetables, and sensible portions of meat or fish.
Where do you feel spleen pain?
What is Hypersplenism disease?
Hypersplenism is an overactive spleen. The spleen is an organ found in the upper left side of your abdomen. The spleen helps filter old and damaged cells from your bloodstream. If your spleen is overactive, it removes the blood cells too early and too quickly.