Ultrasonically guided percutaneous drainage of abdominal fluid collections: a long-term study of its therapeutic efficacy.

Fifty patients underwent ultrasonically guided percutaneous drainage (US-GPD) either with needle aspiration or catheter drainage. The procedures resulted in 70% complete recovery, 20% partial success and 10% of failures. The same patients were followed with clinical examination and sonography for a mean time of 36.3 months (minimum follow-up: 12 months). During the follow up period, 10 relapses occurred and one patient, considered for surgery after partial percutaneous treatment of a pyogenic liver abscess, recovered completely under conservative treatment. An analysis of the factors potentially related to the recurrence was made. It was found that one-step needle aspiration of abdominal abscesses and percutaneous treatment of chronic pancreatic pseudocysts are more prone to relapses. We conclude that US-GPD is an efficacious therapy for abdominal fluid collections, but an adequate drainage technique and a careful selection of the patients is crucial to avoid the possibility of relapse.