[Amebic liver abscesses with bacterial superinfection in a nonendemic area]

A 26-year-old man was admitted to hospital with asthenia, weight loss, right upper quadrant abdominal pain, diarrhea without blood, and fever. Abdominal ultrasonography showed multiple hypoechoic areas in the left hepatic lobe. On abdominal CT, multiple hypodense areas without contrast capture were consistent with hepatic abscesses. Cultures were obtained and the patient was placed empirically on metronidazole, gentamicin and ampicillin, without improvement in the first 72 hours, and a drain was placed in the largest lesion collecting a purulent material. The abscess culture was positive for group C beta-hemolytic Streptococcus. Entamoeba histolytica serology was positive and colon biopsies revealed trophozoites. Multiple left hepatic lobe abscesses secondary to E. histolytica, with bacterial superinfection, is an unusual presentation of amoebic infection, considering that Spain is not an endemic area.