Abstract :
Background: To study the clinical presentation of patients with amoebic liver abscess (ALA) and to find elucidate various
modalities for its diagnosis and management. Methods: A total of 40 patients of ALA were enrolled in the study. SPSS
version 15.0 was used for Statistical Analysis. Chi-square test was used. A ‘p’ value less than 0.05 was considered
statistically significant. Results: Age of patients ranged from 11 to 70 years. All patients presented with abdominal
pain(100%). Majority presented with fever (72.5%) and nausea/vomiting (67.5%). Weight loss (42.50%), cough (32.50%),
anorexia (27.50%) and diarrhoea (25.00%) were other common presenting complaints. Alcohol use was reported by
62.5%. Hypochondrium tenderness (60%) and hepatomegaly (52.5%) were clinical findings present in majority of the
patients. Chest X-ray revealed pleural effusion in 40% cases. Size of abscess assessed by USG ranged between 7.29-220
cm2. Out of 40 patients, 18 (45.00%) were treated conservatively. Other treatment modalities used were pigtail insertion
(25.00%), USG guided needle aspiration (20.00%), laparotomy (5.00%), both USG guided needle aspiration and Pigtail
insertion was done in 5% cases. Conclusion: ALA is a problem mainly associated with lower socioeconomic strata with
alcoholism as a strong risk factor. Timely intervention following a systematic diagnostic approach avoids the adverse
outcomes. Community studies to recognize the potential risk factors and to suggest preventive strategies are
recommended.
Keyword :
Amoebic liver abscess, Laparotomy, Alcoholism.