What are the symptoms of splenomegaly

The spleen and stomach are both important organs in the body. Among them, the spleen is the part that people tend to overlook because it is small in size and close to the liver and gallbladder. Once a disease problem occurs, it is difficult to diagnose it in time. Therefore, health problems with the spleen are often more serious when they are discovered. Among them, spleen enlargement is the most common. Let’s take a look at the symptoms of spleen enlargement.

Hepatosplenomegaly is not a single disease. When hepatosplenomegaly occurs, it is necessary to consider differentiating it from the following diseases. An enlarged spleen does not cause many symptoms, and these symptoms do not specifically indicate the cause of the enlargement. Because an enlarged spleen is adjacent to the stomach, it can compress the stomach.

The texture of splenomegaly may change to varying degrees due to different causes. Generally, splenomegaly caused by acute infection has a soft texture; splenomegaly caused by chronic infection, leukemia cells, and tumor cell infiltration has a hard texture and an uneven surface; the spleen caused by cirrhosis has a moderately hard texture; the texture of splenomegaly due to congestive disease varies depending on the degree of congestion and the duration of congestion. If the duration is short and the congestion is mild, the texture is soft; if the duration is long or the congestion is severe, the texture is hard, but generally feels full. Cystic swellings have a cystic feel and an uneven surface.

(1) Anemia, hemorrhagic spots or ecchymoses are seen in splenomegaly caused by hematological diseases, such as various types of leukemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, etc.

(2) Anemia and jaundice are seen in hemolytic anemia, chronic viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, malignant histiocytosis, sepsis, etc.

(3) Enlargement of the liver and lymph nodes is seen in malignant lymphoma, lymphocytic leukemia, connective tissue disease, infectious mononucleosis, etc.

(4) Hepatic facies, liver palms and spider nevi are seen in chronic viral hepatitis and cirrhosis.

(5) Various types of rashes are common in various infectious diseases or infectious diseases, such as typhoid fever, typhus, brucellosis, sepsis, subacute infective endocarditis, etc.

(6) Edema and peritoneal effusion are seen in chronic right-sided heart failure, constrictive pericarditis, portal hypertension due to cirrhosis, inferior vena cava obstruction, etc.

(7) Cardiac enlargement is seen in chronic heart failure caused by various heart diseases and large pericardial effusion caused by various reasons.

Treatment principles

Hepatosplenomegaly is only a common clinical symptom/sign, and the primary disease should be treated promptly after the cause is identified.