[Liver abscess: diagnosis and treatment. Study of a series of 22 cases].

Twenty-two cases of abscess of the liver are reported. Eighteen were due to pyogenic organisms and four to amebas. The diagnosis was established based on clinical and laboratory evaluations and, above all, on ultrasonography with aspiration of the lesion. The causative organism was recovered from the aspirate in 33.3% of cases. Seventeen patients were treated by percutaneous aspiration. Two patients required insertion of a drain because of a biliary fistula. The success rate of percutaneous aspiration with or without drainage was 88.2% in our series. The two patients who had surgery had loculated abscesses with thick pus. In conclusion, the diagnosis and treatment of hepatic abscesses have benefited from advances in imaging techniques; in particular, aspiration or drainage can be performed simply under ultrasonographic guidance.