Amebic liver abscess: Sonographic diagnosis and management

Abstract

Over a period of 3 years, 68 intrahepatic abscesses in 48 patients were detected by ultrasonography at our institution in New Delhi, India. Our experiences with the sonography and management of this entity are presented. Multiple abscesses were present in 14 patients; the rest had a single abscess. The most common location was the right lobe of the liver. The sonographic morphology of the abscess was analyzed in terms of the echo pattern of the wall and contents of the abscess. These were later correlated with the duration of illness. An attempt was made to assess healing and thereby the age of the abscess. Follow-up ultrasound scans indicated that the change in sonographic appearance lags behind clinical improvement by a considerable period of time.