Spontaneous rupture of the spleen due to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in an intravenous drug abuser.

A case of spontaneous rupture of the spleen is described in a 25-year-old woman with a history of intravenous drug abuse. At autopsy the spleen and the lymph nodes were soft, slightly enlarged, and markedly congested. They showed reactive follicular hyperplasia with increased cellularity and prominent vascularity of the red pulp and the interfollicular tissue. The postmortem serum was positive for antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III. Other serologic tests were negative, including heterophile antibody test, test for antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus, and toxoplasmosis.