Abdominal Vaccination Research

Abdominal trauma may lead to injury of the spleen requiring removal of the organ via emergent splenectomy. Asplenic patients are at high risk for infection by encapsulated organisms due to a decreased ability to clear them. This increased risk is due to a decrease in IgM, opsonins, and splenic tuftsin. The most common encapsulated organisms are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), and Neisseria meningitidis.Vaccination against these organisms is imperative in order to prevent infections and overwhelming post-splenectomy sepsis (OPSS), a serious condition where mortality rate can be as high as 50%.

PPSV23 (Pneumovax 23) and PCV13 (Prevnar 13) are the two pneumococcal vaccinations currently approved for use in adults.