Percutaneous treatment of liver abscesses:needle aspiration versus catheter drainage

Objective:To determine and compare the efficacy of sonographically guided percutaneous needle aspiration (NA) and percutaneous catheter drainage (CD) in the treatment of liver abscesses.Methods:At random, 30 patients with liver abscesses underwent either NA (n=15) or CD (n=15) along with appropriate antimicrobial therapy,aspiration was attempted only once in each patient not responding to the first aspiration. Patients were followed up to assess the outcome of the percutaneous treatment, length of hospital stay and development of any complications, sonography was performed every third day.Results:The successful rates of NA and CD were 66.67%,100% respectively. Among the successful treated patients, the average time for clinical improvement and the mean hospital stay were similar in the two treatment groups. Although the average time needed for a 50% reduction in the size of the abscess cavity was significantly (P0.05) greater in the aspiration group than in the catheter group (13days versus 6days), the average time taken for total resolution of abscess was the same in both groups. No major complications were encountered.Conclusion:CD is more effective than NA in the treatment of liver abscesses.