Percutaneous ultrasound-guided plugged liver biopsy – a single-centre experience

BACKGROUND: Liver biopsy is a widely used, safe diagnostic tool utilised by clinicians for the histopathological assessment of the liver. Our study aims to report our experience in patients who underwent ultrasound-guided plugged percutaneous liver biopsy in a tertiary care hospital in India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Institutional Ethical Review Board approved this retrospective study, and informed consent was obtained from all the patients. A total of 830 liver biopsies were performed between January 2014 and December 2018, of which 782 were plugged percutaneous liver biopsies. The tract was plugged using Gelfoam slurry. Various observations related to the procedures were recorded. RESULTS: Seven hundred and eighty-two were plugged percutaneous liver biopsies, which were performed during the study period. Of the 782 patients, 163 were male, and 619 were female (20.8 % and 79.2 %, respectively), with a mean age of 49.6 ± 2 years (1 month to 86 years). A 100% technical success rate was seen. No immediate major complications were documented in any of the patients who underwent plugged biopsies. No significant complications were seen in any patient. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous liver biopsy is an extensively performed diagnostic tool. We found that ultrasound-guided percutaneous plugged liver biopsy is an easy to perform procedure, which is associated with a lower risk of a bleeding complications.