Spontaneous spleen rupture after bacterial endocarditis

A 50-year-old man presenting with high fever, dysarthria and partial uncons ciousness was admitted to the emergency department. The diagnosis was bacte rial endocarditis. A week after his admission, he suddenly had a hypovolemi c shock. Operation revealed splenic rupture. Histological examination of th e spleen revealed sites of infarct colonized by Streptococcus mitis and a l arge fissure. Spontaneous spleen rupture following bacterial endocarditis i s a rare complication. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.