[Hepatic puncture biopsy in the outpatient clinic]

The authors present the results of a prospective study on percutaneous needle biopsy of the liver conducted at the Hepatology Outpatients' Ward of the Gastroenterology Unit of the University Hospital -" Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora", MG, Brazil. In 16 months 61 biopsies were made in patients with chronic liver disease according to the technique described by menghini. The inclusion criteria were established by The Patient Care Committee of The American Gastroenterological Association. Abdominal ultrasound was done before and after the procedure. The patients stayed six hours under control (blood pressure and pulse rate) in the hospital. After 24 hours other clinical, laboratorial and ultrasonic control were performed. The main complication was local pain or in the right shoulder (32 patients--52.5%). Abdominal ultrasound after 24 hours revealed only one hematoma of the abdominal wall (1.8%). This study shows that the outpatient needle liver biopsy is a safe procedure with low complication rate when performed in a judicious way, by specialized personnel and under strict clinical control.