[Ultrasonographic course of hepatic amebic abscess. Current role of needle aspiration]

The authors studied the different ultrasonographic features of 460 cases of hepatic amebic abscesses in a Central African endemic area. Except some chronic or cystic abscesses, ultrasonography shows the poor efficacy of the perifocal connective tissue barrier. The coalescence of necrotic hepatic foci and the creation of anatomic rupture are the main mechanisms allowing the lesion to spread in the hepatic parenchyma. The therapeutic needle aspiration under ultrasonographic guidance is of great value for abscesses bigger than 10 cm or those complicated by extrahepatic extension.