Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis in thalassemia major patients.

Two thalassemia major patients received regular blood transfusion and desferrioxamine chelation, and 1 patient had a splenectomy at 9 years of age. Both patients developed Klebsiella pneumoniae meningitis at age of 27 and 15 years. They died within a short time despite appropriate antibiotic treatment. Klebsiella meningitis may be more common in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.