The asplenic patient: a consideration for antimicrobial prophylaxis.

Removal of the spleen predisposes the patient to the development of overwhelming sepsis without a primary site of infection. Transient, usually asymptomatic, bacteremias occur in a wide variety of dental manipulations, particularly those involving the mucous membranes. Occasionally these bacteremias can give rise to serious complications in susceptible patients. A prophylactic preoperative and postoperative antimicrobial regimen is presented for asplenic patients undergoing bacteremia-causing dental treatment.