Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Atraumatic splenic rupture from Babesia: A disease of the otherwise healthy patient.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Farber, FR; Muehlenbachs, A; Robey, TE
Published in: Ticks Tick Borne Dis
July 2015

Babesiosis, an infection caused by the protozoan Babesia microti and transmitted by the Ixodes scapularis tick, is commonly described in the literature with an approximate incidence of 1000 cases per year (Herwaldt et al., 2012). Infections in North America occur most frequently during the spring and summer months in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. Babesia can cause a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from a self-limited febrile illness or mild anemia to severe illness causing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) and multisystem organ failure. Severe illness most commonly occurs in elderly, immunocompromised, or asplenic patients (Vannier and Krause, 2012). Splenic rupture has been generally described as a complication of severe illness secondary to babesiosis. We describe a case of spontaneous splenic rupture in an otherwise healthy woman that required emergent splenectomy. Recent case reports suggest that splenic rupture occurs in people without known risk factors for severe babesiosis. Physicians should be aware of this acute presentation in otherwise healthy individuals.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Ticks Tick Borne Dis

DOI

EISSN

1877-9603

Publication Date

July 2015

Volume

6

Issue

5

Start / End Page

649 / 652

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Splenic Diseases
  • Splenectomy
  • Rupture, Spontaneous
  • Middle Aged
  • Humans
  • Hemoperitoneum
  • Hematoma
  • Doxycycline
  • Babesiosis
  • Babesia
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Farber, F. R., Muehlenbachs, A., & Robey, T. E. (2015). Atraumatic splenic rupture from Babesia: A disease of the otherwise healthy patient. Ticks Tick Borne Dis, 6(5), 649–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.05.010
Farber, F. R., A. Muehlenbachs, and T. E. Robey. “Atraumatic splenic rupture from Babesia: A disease of the otherwise healthy patient.Ticks Tick Borne Dis 6, no. 5 (July 2015): 649–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.05.010.
Farber FR, Muehlenbachs A, Robey TE. Atraumatic splenic rupture from Babesia: A disease of the otherwise healthy patient. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2015 Jul;6(5):649–52.
Farber, F. R., et al. “Atraumatic splenic rupture from Babesia: A disease of the otherwise healthy patient.Ticks Tick Borne Dis, vol. 6, no. 5, July 2015, pp. 649–52. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.05.010.
Farber FR, Muehlenbachs A, Robey TE. Atraumatic splenic rupture from Babesia: A disease of the otherwise healthy patient. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2015 Jul;6(5):649–652.
Journal cover image

Published In

Ticks Tick Borne Dis

DOI

EISSN

1877-9603

Publication Date

July 2015

Volume

6

Issue

5

Start / End Page

649 / 652

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Splenic Diseases
  • Splenectomy
  • Rupture, Spontaneous
  • Middle Aged
  • Humans
  • Hemoperitoneum
  • Hematoma
  • Doxycycline
  • Babesiosis
  • Babesia