[Fulminant pneumococcemia in two splenectomized patients (author's transl)].

Two cases (one fatal) of fulminant pneumococcemia in splenectomized patients are reported. One patient had undergone splenectomy for intra-operative injury, the other for Hodgkin's disease. The cases presented here are compared to those we have reviewed from the medical literature. The role of prophylactic antibiotics and polyvalent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is considered in splenectomized patients.