Table 3. Current practice of asplenic patients' management as reported by specialists of Internal medicine and Surgery, as well as general practitioners.
| Percentage of physicians reporting to provide asplenic patients with: | Internists (%) | Surgeons (%) | GPs (%) | P valuea |
| Pneumococcal immunization | 95,2 | 93,3 | 82,6 | 0,1123 |
| H. influenzae B immunization | 88,1 | 50,0 | 45,7 | <0.0001 |
| Meningococcal C immunization | 81,0 | 56,7 | 30,4 | <0.0001 |
| Lifelong boosters of Pneumovaxb | 83,3 | 36,7 | 66,0 | 0,0002 |
| Annual flu immunization | 73,8 | 26,7 | 91,3 | <0.0001 |
| Continuous antibiotics for 2 years after splenectomy | 9,5 | 13,3 | 6,4 | 0,5885 |
| On-demand antibiotics | 88,1 | 66,7 | 78,7 | 0,0887 |
| Advice to take antibiotics immediately in case of fever | 90,5 | 60,0 | 66,0 | 0,0123 |
| Advice to gather information upon travelling | 78,1 | 40,0 | 70,2 | 0,0026 |
| Immediate antibiotic therapy after cat or dog bites | 61,9 | 40,0 | 66,0 | 0,0648 |
Percentages indicate the number of physicians that answered with either ‘always’ or ‘frequently’ (in more than 50% of cases) when asked if they provided their asplenic patients with the recommended preventive measures.
a
P value calculated by Chi-square test, for 3 groups of physicians.
b
Pneumovax ®: 23-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccination.