Laparoscopic-guided biopsy for diagnosis of hepatic candidiasis.

Histopathological evaluation of infected tissue is critical in the diagnosis of hepatic candidiasis since cultures are unreliable. Percutaneous techniques are inaccurate because lesions often are small and multifocal, and open biopsy is not always well-tolerated in acutely ill patients. The authors investigated the feasibility of laparoscopically guided biopsy in patients suspected of having hepatic candidiasis. Preliminary results suggest that laparoscopically guided biopsy is highly accurate and less invasive than open biopsy.