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To the Editor.
—We retrospectively evaluated 78 cases of bacterial endocarditis necropsied at the active phase of the disease. Splenomegaly (ie, splenic weight of >200 g) was found in 45 cases, splenic infarcts were found in 41 cases, and splenic abscesses were found in five cases (two of which were associated with infarcts). Infarction or abscess formation was not significantly associated with either the age of the patient or the site (right or left side) of endocarditis. Among the patients with acute endocarditis, the spleen tended to be heavier, with more frequent infarcts or abscesses (P<. 10) and the infarcts were more frequently suppurated (P<.02). Of the five patients with splenic abscesses, four patients had splenomegaly. The abscesses were small and multiple in four cases, whereas the fifth patient had a 6-cm large abscess.Among the 41 spleens showing infarcts, we noted single infarcts in 13 cases and