Percutaneous treatment of liver abscess – outcomes

INTRODUCTION: Mixed bacterial flora are responsible for the development of numerous abscesses, particularly those that are a consequence of systemic infection (septicaemia) originating from pathologies within abdominal organs or biliary ducts. The number and volume of abscesses may vary, which influences the method of treatment. AIM: To assess the effectiveness of a minimally invasive percutaneous drainage of liver abscesses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 37 patients were treated for liver abscess in the years 2007–2016. The treatment involved sonographically guided percutaneous drainage of liver abscess. RESULTS: A total of 35 patients with a solitary abscess were successfully cured with minimally invasive percutaneous drainage. Two patients with abscesses volume > 20 cm(3) were treated surgically after ineffective percutaneous drainage. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous drainage is effective in the treatment of solitary liver abscesses volume < 5 cm(3). Irregularly shaped abscesses are effectively drained with multisite drainage. Hybrid drainage (endoscopic and percutaneous) is a method of choice in the treatment of abscesses resulting from biliary duct obstruction. Statistical significance regarding inflammatory markers was found only for C-reactive protein (CRP), because it correlated with the effectiveness of drainage, i.e. the possibility of drainage effectiveness decreased with the increase in CRP values.