Intended for healthcare professionals

Letters

...and may be ineffective

BMJ 1994; 308 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.308.6921.132 (Published 08 January 1994) Cite this as: BMJ 1994;308:132
  1. R G Finch,
  2. R Read
  1. Department of Microbial Diseases, Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust, Nottingham NG5 1PB.

    EDITOR, - We agree with Mary McMullin and George Johnston that splenectomy causes a slight but important long term susceptibility to (Predominantly pneumococcal) sepsis, but we cannot agree with their recommendation for lifelong chemoprophylaxis with phenoxymethylpenicillin or their devaluation of pneumococcal vaccine.1 A rigid regimen of lifelong chemoprophylaxis is of uncertain value for several reasons, the most pertinent being that the patients do not comply.

    Pneumococcal vaccine is the most important component of prophylaxis for people after a …

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