title: Hypersplenism: History and current status.
abstract: Hypersplenism is a common disorder characterized by an enlarged spleen which causes rapid and premature destruction of blood cells. This review summarizes the history of hypersplenism, discuss its classification and pathogenesis, and examines its diagnosis and treatment options. We performed a comprehensive literature search using PubMed, Web of Knowledge and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, reviewed hypersplenism-related articles and summarized the major findings. According to its etiological causes, hypersplenism is characterized by splenomegaly and peripheral cytopenias. It can be classified into three categories: i) primary hypersplenism; ii) secondary hypersplenism; and iii) occult hypersplenism. A number of mechanisms causing hypersplenism have been identified, and mainly involve retention in the spleen, phagocytosis, and autoimmunity. Treatment options for hypersplenism include etiological treatment, non-surgical treatment, total splenectomy and liver transplantation. In any case, treatment should be individualized for each patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hainan Province People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570311, P.R. China; Department of Molecular Biology, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yunfu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hainan Province People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570311, P.R. China; Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, SAR, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wan Yee
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hainan Province People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570311, P.R. China; Department of Molecular Biology, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yejuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hainan Province People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570311, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hainan Province People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570311, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hainan Province People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570311, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hainan Province People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan 570311, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongfei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: classification; historical review; hypersplenism; pathogenesis; splenectomy; splenomegaly