What Is The Cause And Treatment For Enlarged Spleen?

Posted on Mon, 14 Jul 2014

Question: What can cause an enlarged spleen, and what treatment is needed? No doctor can find a cause, after multiple tests have been run, including a bone maarrow biopsy.

Answered by Dr. Sridhar Reddy (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Several causes

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to HCM!

I am Dr. Sridhar and I shall be answering your question.

Well, there are several reasons which cause an enlarged spleen, referred to as Splenomegaly.

To enumerate some:

Infections such as Malaria, Kala azar
Different types of hemolytic anemias such as Sickle cell anemia, Thalassemia, Spherocytosis, G6PD deficiency syndrome etc
Blood cancers such as Lymphomas, Leukemia.
Portal Hypertension
Cirrhosis of Liver
Viral infections such as Mononucleosis

These are some of the common causes of enlarged spleen.

To know the exact cause, a detailed history, examination and investigations are needed.
Also, certain infections, if endemic to your area, might give a clue.
Age also plays an important role in making out the probable cause.

At times, it is quite difficult to find out a cause, as it appears to be in your case. I'd suggest you to visit a specialist physician, who will be able to find out a cause.

I hope I've answered your query. Feel free to ask if you have any more doubts.

If not, you may close the discussion and rate the answer.

Wish you good health.

With warm regards,
Dr. Sridhar Reddy.

Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj