A devastating case of purpura fulminans in a young adult seven years after a splenectomy: a case report

It is well known that asplenic patients can suffer immediate and long-term infective sequelae, most of all from capsulated bacteria, whereas appropriate immunization can reduce the incidence of postsplenectomy sepsis. We discuss the case of a young adult developing an overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis (OPSS) due to streptococcus pneumoniae seven years after the splenectomy for a traumatic injury. Neither immunoprophylaxis nor antibiotic therapy, whose value is underlined by literature data and international guidelines, was ever administered, either by the hospital physicians or by the general practitioner.