The Prevalence of Colonic Neoplasm in Cryptogenic Pyogenic Liver Abscess: A Prospectively Enrolled Cross-sectional...

Several studies suggest that pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is associated with colon neoplasm. A colonoscopic exam for cryptogenic PLA might detect a hidden colon neoplasm, through which intestinal flora can be transmitted into the liver. However, there are no prospectively enrolled cross-sectional data for colonic neoplasm in cryptogenic PLA.

Patients with PLA were prospectively enrolled from two university hospitals. Among them, all the patients with cryptogenic PLA were recommended for colonoscopic exam to check for colonic neoplasm.

One hundred eighty-three patients with PLA were enrolled in the study for 22 months. One hundred and one (55.2%) patients did not have a definite cause of liver abscess at initial evaluation. The median diameter of the largest lesion was 5.7 cm (1.0-14.0 cm), and 74.3% of the patients were treated by percutaneous abscess drainage. Ninety-one percent of the patients who had an identified pathogen yielded Klebsiella. Sixty-two patients underwent colonoscopic exams, and no one had a colonic cancer, one had an adenomatous polyp with high grade dysplasia (1.6%), and 27 had adenomatous polyps with low grade dysplasia (43.5%; 41.0% in male and 43.5% in female). Of fifty patients who underwent an esophagogastroduodenoscopic exam, nine had gastric ulcers, one had an esophageal ulcer, and one had hemorrhagic gastritis.

The prevalence of colonic neoplasm among the patients with cryptogenic PLA was not as high as that in previous studies. Further well-designed, large-scale studies are required to assess the association of the colon neoplasm and cryptogenic PLA.