Safety and Efficacy of USG-Guided Catheter Drainage in Liver Abscesses

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of USG-guided percutaneous drainage in liver abscesses of >5 cm. A lot of literature is available on the minimally invasive treatment of liver abscesses since its introduction in the early 1980s. This study focuses on the eastern Indian population and the outcome of treatment of liver abscess of >5 cm by means of catheter drainage and the use of antibiotics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study conducted on a total of fifty patients over a period of 1 year, 1 month (from June 2017 to June 2018). Only patients with liver abscess with size >5 cm were included in the study. The demographic characteristics; comorbidities; and clinical, radiological, and bacteriological characteristics of liver abscesses in the eastern Indian population and the safety and efficacy of catheter drainage were evaluated. RESULTS: It was found that because of preprocedural empirical antibiotic intake, 70% of the patients had no growth in the pus, whereas 12% had Entamoeba histolytica, 8% had Escherichia coli, and 6% had Klebsiella pneumoniae as the causative agent. The total duration of hospital stay ranged from 3 to 22 days, and the duration of intravenous antibiotics ranged from 1 to 9 days with a clinical success rate of 96% without any drainage-related complications. CONCLUSION: In contradiction to the earlier belief, percutaneous drainage is a safe and effective means of treatment in liver abscesses of >5 cm with high clinical success rate and reduced duration of intravenous antibiotic requirement as well as hospital stay.