Ultrasound in the diagnosis of the early liver abscess

An analysis has been made of the ultrasound studies of 29 patients with proven liver abscesses. Ten of these were first seen in the early stages of abscess formation and a detailed study of the echo characteristics has been made. Helpful features have been shown to include a peripheral echo-free halo, distal acoustic enhancement and progressive change over a short time. These features are highly suggestive of an early abscess and, in our experience, this combination is not seen in other space-occupying lesions of the liver. We consider them to have considerable diagnostic value.