[Percutaneous treatment of liver abscess. Apropos of 34 cases]

The authors report on a retrospective series of 37 liver abscesses treated via the percutaneous route in 34 patients, in order to assess the efficacy of this method. One or more aspiration punctures were undertaken in 24 patients (70.6%), while percutaneous drainage was performed in 10 patients (29.4%). In 27 cases (79.5%), this percutaneous treatment resulted in a cure. Further surgical drainage, carried out in 7 patients (20.5%) was only required in 3 cases, twice due to the inefficacy of percutaneous drainage and once in the presence of three liver abscesses containing particularly thick pus. Ultrasonographic monitoring demonstrated a return to normal in 66.6% of cases, the persistence of a slight residual collection in 26.6% patients and one relapse, two months after percutaneous drainage. Two complications inherent to the percutaneous treatment were noted: a pneumothorax and a case of septicemia, both of which had a favourable outcome.