Unsuspected hepatic abscess associated with biliary tract disease.

Experience at Beth Israel Medical Center with 10 patients who had unsuspected intrahepatic abscesses due to biliary tract disease led to a reevaluation of this entity. Ultrasonography, computerized tomography, and radionuclide imaging techniques have radically altered the approach to the evaluation and management of this disease in the last several years, and rapid diagnosis and treatment have led to a markedly improved prognosis, especially in those patients with calculous disease of the biliary tract.