A STUDY ON LIVER ABSCESS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL

Aims and Objectives: To study the demographic profile, clinical presentation and the etiological factors of liver abscess in adults Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at Mamata General Hospital, Department of General Medicine, Khammam. The duration of the study was two years i.e. 1st Jan 2010 to 31st Dec 2011. Age group was 20-75 years. Inclusion criteria taken for this study was based on history, socioeconomic status, demographic profile, clinical examination, biochemical culture from abscess drained & ultrasound findings. Patients with less than 20yrs and traumatic abscess, infected tumours are excluded from the study. The diagnosis of liver abscess was made by clinical features, radiological features and aspiration of pus with or without positive culture. Results: Most common age group suffered from liver abscess are 20 ? 50 yrs of both sexes with male predominance with male to female ratio 2.2: 1 and most of the patients are from low socioeconomic status of rural population. Abdominal pain was the most common presenting complaint followed by fever, nausea & vomitings. Right lobe of liver is commonly affected with single as well as multiple abscesses. The common causative pyogenic organisms on culture from the drained liver abscess fluid were klebsiella pneumonia 43%, E.coli 10% and 10% patients positive with serology for amoebic liver abscess. All cases were treated with emperical intravenous as well as oral antibiotics & those with large abscess and not responding to intravenous antibiotics after 72 hrs of therapy were treated with percutaneous pig tail catheter drainage. There was no hospital mortalitynoticed. Conclusions: Liver abscess is common in low socioeconomic status of rural population & the affected patients were socioeconomically productive age group. Although the incidence of liver abscess is gradually decreasing as compared to previous studies, still there is need to focus on health education in these age groups and a high index of suspicion in these groups who present with abdominal pain and fever.