[Hepatic amebiasis: recent aspects. One hundred and sixty one case reports (author's transl)]

The authors describe their experience of 16l patients (151 adults and 10 children) with hepatic amebiasis. Diagnosis and treatment were carried out at the Treichville Hospital University Center in Abidjan over a three-year period, from September 1976 to November 1979. Diagnosis was established without question in all cases. The indirect immunofluorescence reaction was particularly helpful. All patients were treated by metronidazole or it's derivatives. Semiology, course and therapy are described in detail. A comparison is made with cases published in the literature during the last 15 years. Most of the classical pictures were encountered in this study. The clinical picture may be misleading, for instance when it is suggestive of cancer or when jaundice is present. Immunology is particularly interesting in atypical forms. The authors insist on the unvarying and high morbidity due to this disease which accounts for 2% of all hospitalizations. Prognosis has improved, the mortality rate among adults was 4.5%. A fall in the number of surgical procedures was recorded. Only 10% of the patients underwent surgery. The therapeutic principles advocated by the authors are described. They can be used even when echotomography is not available, as is usually the case in regions where the disease is endemic.