Spleen Australia, established in 2003 by the Alfred Hospital, is a clinical service and registry for people of all ages who do not have a functioning spleen, and aims to reduce the incidence of overwhelming sepsis.
Over 10,000 patients with asplenia/hyposplenism or after a splenic artery embolisation procedure are registered. The service is funded by state departments of health in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland, and has strong collaborations with paediatricians at The Royal Children’s Hospital.
Background
In 2002 a young woman at the Alfred Hospital died from pneumococcal sepsis. The ICU and medical team felt that IF she or her parents knew more about how to detect and prevent sepsis this young woman would not have died, in essence her death would have been prevented. This event was the catalyst for two Alfred Hospital clinicians to apply for a short term funding grant with the Victorian Department of Health. The proposal was to set up a registry that would enrol patients and systematically provide them and their GPs with information about the well‐known strategies for preventing sepsis in this population.
What can you do to help your patients who do not have a functioning spleen?
Register your patients with the Spleen Australia clinical service today. The staff will provide information to the patient and their GP. Spleen Australia always tries to increase awareness of susceptibility to infections and how to reduce the risk of these infections, for those without a functioning spleen. If your patients does not live in the funded stated please refer to our website for latest medical recommendations and health updates.
Read more here (.pdf)
Disclaimer: This article was provided by Spleen Australia. While every effort has been made to ensure the information is accurate, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network does not warrant or represent the accuracy, currency and completeness of any information or material included within.
