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Splenectomy and Covid-19

Posted , 23 users are following.

PatinetzeroJ
PatinetzeroJ

Hello. My spleen was removed in 2012 following injury and bleeding. I was always told to be aware of bacteriological infection and I take low dose antibiotics as prophylaxis. What is the function of the spleen in fighting viruses, and does not having a spleen put me in a high risk category for complications arising from Covid-19 infection. Very little information available online!

1 like, 84 replies

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  • deodatus
    deodatus PatinetzeroJ

    Edited

    This is what my doctor said, also said i won't get a letter as only very high risk are getting that. my spleen was removed in 1994

    "There are different categories of at risk patients and you are correct in your assumption that you are at risk from coronavirus due to your past medical history and receiving the flu vaccination and therefore should be self isolating"

  • michelle54635
    michelle54635 PatinetzeroJ

    Edited

    I know we are all being careful and self isolating. How does anyone here feel about flying?

    i am a US citizen in a foreign country whose borders are closed. Very small amount of cases here. I am scared to death to get on a plane back to the US when they open the borders here. But my visa will be expired and I will have to. Especially as rapidly as it is spreading there.

    • deodatus
      deodatus michelle54635

      Edited

      Can you not see if your Visa can be extended ? i would think being on a plane would be a high risk

    • karenjk
      karenjk michelle54635

      Edited

      I really don't blame you. Can you get to the Embassy or contact them via the internet. You may need to have your Doctor pride some sort of documentation.

  • carol80650
    carol80650 PatinetzeroJ

    Edited

    Hi again

    We seem to be getting conflicting opinions. I have never had a spleen & work for the NHS. I was told by Occupational Health that as long as I observe strict hand hygiene & do not have face to face contact with potential Covid patients then it was fine to carry on working. I never received any letter from the Government either. I think I will get in touch with my Haematology Consultant. Keep well & safe everyone.

    • Unzisnr
      Unzisnr carol80650

      Edited

      Hello I got a letter from the government saying I should self isolate. The letter came late. My doctor said to me it was late because there are two lists of at risk people. I wasn't on one, but I was on what he called the digital list. I received the letter two days later. You are correct in saying there are so many conflicting opinions. The fact that I have asthma as well and also work in a prison could also have a bearing on matters . Still if you speak to your consultant and see what he says then that could give you a better idea.. stay safe.

  • bkw44857
    bkw44857 PatinetzeroJ

    Edited

    This group is amazing I have been without a speen since I was 12 and Im 53 now. so many questions for a community like this that only we understand about living this life. Who could have ever forseen such a terrible situation to bring us into a single discussion. Thank you!

    • michelle54635
      michelle54635 bkw44857

      Posted

      mine was out at 8. 52 now. never gave it much thought until now. especially being outside my home country and not feeling safe to go home. the US is a s**t show! sorry for the language but as now they have 1/3 of the cases in the world. nor wanting to fly back there.

  • PGM01
    PGM01 PatinetzeroJ

    Edited

    Hi, my wife and adult children are also asplenic (due to Hereditary Spherocytosis), so we were concerned, and puzzled, as to why they had been put in the "Highly Vulnerable/Shielding" category for Covid-19. The advice has been somewhat confusing and contradictory, but the latest info from the British Haematology Society, is very clear and helpful - perhaps it will help others too? https://b-s-h.org.uk/media/18292/covid19-bsh-guidance-on-splenectomy-v2-final-6-may2020_.pdf

    • Wheelo
      Wheelo PGM01

      Posted

      great information. Thank You

    • ChocolateSilk
      ChocolateSilk PGM01

      Posted

      I'm (23 F) and I have HS too. And I'm without a spleen. Could I ask a question about if your wife has always had HS? And since its hereditary, was it carried to your

      children? Also dose she have any problems now after having children while having HS? Thank you so much, Its really hard to find people with the same rare blood disorder. Take care stay safe,

      -C

    • PGM01
      PGM01 ChocolateSilk

      Edited

      Hi ChocolateSilk - yes, my wife has (by definition) had HS all her life (her spleen was removed when she was 14) - it came down her father's side of the family. Because only one of us had the condition, there was a 50% chance that any of our children would inherit it - unfortunately, they all did (and all have had their spleens removed)!! My wife has never had any real "problems" with HS (she is now 59), other than having to take her twice daily dose of antibiotics, and keep up to date with her pneumococcal and flu vaccinations. You may have noticed, from the paper that I referenced previously, that asplenic patients who "only" have HS, and no other problems, are not classed as being "Highly Vulnerable", and that asplenic patients per se are not considered to be at any greater risk than the general population of contracting Covid-19. Hope this helps

  • deodatus
    deodatus PatinetzeroJ

    Edited

    Found this while looking for up to date information, i have not had the letter yet, but a conversation with my surgery confirms i should be shielding (already noted on my file)

    https://www.gponline.com/u-turn-splenectomy-patients-added-covid-19-shielding-list/article/1681307

    • PGM01
      PGM01 deodatus

      Posted

      Hi, I also found this document, and it was part of the "confusing and contradictory" information that I referenced previously! If you notice, it pre-dates the British Haematology document (24 April v 06 May), and the latter document also refers to this "initial advice"; however, it then goes on to say "Based on this (subsequent accumulated) data, and following the initial period of shielding, due to end in June 2020, it is proposed that some of the (asplenic) patients will be classified as "clinically vulnerable" instead of "clinically extremely vulnerable" and will no longer be recommended to continue shielding after this time. The patients who DO NOT require shielding (providing there is no other indication for shielding) are those with

      • Splenectomy for trauma
      • Thalassaemia or other inherited red cell disorders with splenectomy, but without significant iron overload or comorbidities
      • Splenectomy for autoimmune disorders but not currently taking immunosuppressive treatment, and not on Shielded Patient List due to underlying disease.

      So, there should be quite a few asplenic patients (including those with Hereditary Spherocytosis) that are able to "unshield" after June. Although I do have to say that I don't understand why they can't "unshield" now!

    • PGM01
      PGM01 carol80650

      Posted

      You're right Carol - the contradictions are not very helpful! I would have thought that the BHS guidance applied to Scotland as well but, who knows? We shared the document with our GP who, not surprisingly, was completely unaware of it! He said he would read it, and said that, from our description of the content, he was quite happy to go with it!

    • PGM01
      PGM01

      Edited

      Incidentally, I note that the Guidance you posted refers to the 24th of April (which was when the GP Online stuff was published) even though your letter from NHS Scotland was dated 11 May, and the link says the last update was 18 May; this pre-dates the 6 May communication from BHS that I referenced earlier - so maybe they had also not seen this (like our GP) - who knows? For what it's worth, we are going to work on the basis that the BHS are the "experts", and are advising the NHS (who must rely on the experts for their information?), and stop shielding in June. Life is full of risks, and our family (myself excepted, so who am I to speak?) have walked around for many years exposing themselves to potential risks to experience life - so our belief is that a virus does not predispose asplenic people (without any other problems) to more risk than the rest of us - a view supported by the BHS paper! We (i.e. they!) will, obviously take all the appropriate precautions to minimise the chance of contracting CV - but none of us can guarantee anything! Maybe we're being cavalier - but life WILL go on! 😃

    • carol80650
      carol80650 PGM01

      Edited

      In total agreement with everything you've said. I wandered about this earth for 60 years completely unaware that I was missing a spleen! It only came to light last year when I had an infection that threatened to overwhelm me and the subsequent blood investigations showed the lack of a spleen. Prior to that, and since then, I've been absolutely fine. So, yes, let's take all the necessary precautions but also let's get busy living 😁. None of us are getting out of this (life) alive. Take care, stay safe & best wishes

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