AbstractBackground: Liver abscess was one of the high mortality diseases prior to the availability of percutaneous drainage techniques. Usg guided percutaneous drainage of liver abscess has been gained increased acceptance nowerdays in combination with parenteral antibiotics and is the choice of procedure in most cases. Patients who failed to respond and with poor compliance are candidates for surgical drainage.
Aim: To compare the therapeutic effectiveness of intermittent needle aspiration and pigtail catheter drainage in manegment of liver abscess.
Methods: A comparitive study was carried out among 60 subjects attending Department of Surgery, K.R. Hospital, Mysuru over a period of 12 months. Subjects of either sex with diagnosed cases of pyogenic and amoebic liver abscess were included in the study. Patients with poor compliance, ruptured liver abscess, uncertain diagnosis, terminal disease and liver malignancy were excluded from the study.
Results: The mean age group of the study subjects was 44.6 (range 38-84) years. The gender distribution showed a higher number of males (53) as compared to females (7). Needle aspiration procedure showed a better outcome statistically as compared to pigtail drainage. Two patients in catheter drainage groups required surgery due to persistent sepsis and inadequate drainage.
Conclusions: Percutaneous intermittent needle aspiration is easier, simpler and less expensive preffered method of drainage as compared to pigtail catheter drainage approach for liver abscess.