Asplenia means lack of a spleen or a spleen that doesn’t work.
Although the spleen is an important organ that helps your body fight infections, in addition to other functions, it is certainly possible to live without a spleen.
Asplenia
There are many reasons a child might have asplenia, including:
- congenital asplenia (children born without a spleen), sometimes associated with severe cyanotic congenital heart disease, such as transposition of the great arteries
- surgical removal (splenectomy) secondary to trauma or anatomic defects
- surgical removal to prevent complications of other conditions, such as ITP, hereditary spherocytosis, pyruvate kinase deficiency, Gaucher disease, and hypersplenism, etc.
And some children simply have a spleen that doesn’t work (functional asplenia) or doesn’t work very well because of sickle-cell disease and some other conditions.
Vaccines for Children with Asplenia
Because the spleen has such an important function in helping fight infections, without a spleen, a child is at increased risk for infections.
Specifically, there is a risk for severe infections from the Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis bacteria.
Fortunately, there are vaccines that protect against many subtypes of these bacteria, including:
- Hib – protects against Haemophilus influenzae type B
- Meningococcal conjugate vaccines – Menactra or Menveo, which protect against 4 common types of the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria – serogroups ACWY
- Serogroup B Meningococcal vaccines – Bexsero or Trunemba, which protect against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B
- Prevnar 13 – protects against 13 subtypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Pneumovax 23 – protects against 23 subtypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae
Although Prevnar, Hib, and the meningococcal vaccines (Menactra or Menveo and Bexsero or Trunemba) are part of the routine immunization schedule, there are additional recommendations that can change the timing for when kids get them if they have asplenia.
According to the latest recommendations, in addition to all of the other routine immunizations that they should get according to schedule, children with asplenia should get:
- one dose of the Hib vaccine if they are older than age 5 years “who are asplenic or who are scheduled for an elective splenectomy” and have not already vaccinated against Hib. Unvaccinated younger kids should get caught up as soon as possible. In general though, Hib is given according to the standard immunization schedule. This recommendation is about kids who are behind on the shot.
- two doses of a meningococcal conjugate vaccine, either Menactra or Menveo, two months apart once a child with asplenia is at least two years old and a booster dose every five years. Infants with asplenia can instead get a primary series of Menveo at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months, with a first booster dose after three years, and a second booster after another five years. Older infants can get Menactra at 9 and 12 months, again, with a first booster dose after three years, and a second booster after another five years. While these vaccines are recommended for all kids, those with asplenia get them much earlier than the standard age.
- either a two dose series of Bexsero or a three dose series of Trunemba, once they are at least 10 years old. The Men B vaccines are only formally recommended for high risk kids, others can get it if they want to be protected.
- between one to four doses of Prevnar, depending on how old they are when they start and complete the series. Keep in mind that unlike healthy children who do not routinely get Prevnar after they are 5 years old, older children with asplenia can get a single dose of Prevnar up to age 65 years if they have never had it before. Like Hib, this recommendation is about kids who are behind on the shot.
- a dose of Pneumovax 23 once they are at least two years old, with a repeat dose five years later and a maximum of two total doses. Kids who are not high risk typically don’t get this vaccine.
Ideally, children would get these vaccines at least two to three weeks before they were going to get a planned splenectomy. Of course, that isn’t always possible in the case of the emergency removal of a child’s spleen, in which case they should get the vaccines as soon as they can.
More About Asplenia
In addition to these vaccines, preventative antibiotics are typically given once a child’s spleen is removed or is no longer working well. Although there are no definitive guidelines for all children who have had a splenectomy, many experts recommend daily antibiotics (usually penicillin or amoxicillin) until a child is at least 5 years old and for at least 1 year after their splenectomy.
Other less common bacteria that can be a risk for children with asplenia can include Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella species, Klebsiella species, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Vaccines aren’t yet available for these bacteria, so you might take other precautions, such as avoiding pet reptiles, which can put kids at risk for Salmonella infections.
Children with asplenia are at increased risk for severe malaria and babesiosis (a tickborne illness) infections. That makes it important to take malaria preventative medications and avoid mosquitoes if traveling to places that have high rates of malaria and to do daily tick checks when camping, etc.
A medical alert type bracelet, indicating that your child has had his spleen removed, can be a good idea in case he ends up in the emergency room with a fever and doctors don’t know his medical history.
Keep in mind that since there are many different causes of asplenia, the specific treatment plan for your child may be a little different than that described here. Talk to your pediatrician and any pediatric specialists that your child sees.
What to Know about Vaccines for Children with Asplenia
Children with asplenia typically need extra vaccines and protection against pneumococcal disease, Hib, and meningococcal disease.
More about Vaccines for Children with Asplenia
- CDC – Vaccines That Might Be Indicated for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger Based on Medical Indications, United States, 2018
- ACIP – Prevention and Control of Haemophilus influenzae Type b Disease: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
- ACIP – Use of 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine and 23-Valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine for Adults with Immunocompromising Conditions: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
- ACIP – Use of 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine and 23-Valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
- ACIP – Use of Serogroup B Meningococcal Vaccines in Persons Aged ≥10 Years at Increased Risk for Serogroup B Meningococcal Disease: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2015
- ACIP – Updated Recommendations for Use of MenB-FHbp Serogroup B Meningococcal Vaccine — Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2016
- ACIP – Use of MenACWY-CRM Vaccine in Children Aged 2 Through 23 Months at Increased Risk for Meningococcal Disease: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2013
- ACIP – Prevention and Control of Meningococcal Disease: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
- ACIP – Recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for Use of Quadrivalent Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MenACWY-D) Among Children Aged 9 Through 23 Months at Increased Risk for Invasive Meningococcal Disease
- Asplenia and Adult Vaccination
- CDC – Altered Immunocompetence
- CDC – Meningococcal: Who Needs to Be Vaccinated?
- Recommendations for vaccination in persons with functional or anatomical asplenia (Australia)
- Ask the Experts about Men B Vaccines
- Meningococcal B vaccine recommendations by age and risk factor
- Ask the Experts about Pneumococcal Vaccines