Surgical infections
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A current assessment of liver abscesses should allow for better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and improve the effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment. Amebic liver abscess occurs more commonly than pyogenic liver abscess on a worldwide basis. However, in the United States, pyogenic liver abscess predominates. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the etiology, management, morbidity, and mortality of all patients admitted to our medical center with diagnoses of pyogenic liver abscess between 1983 and 1996. ⋯ CT scan- and ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage of pyogenic liver abscesses were safe and effective methods of treatment. The right lobe of the liver was involved in 95% of cases. Although no one species predominated, gram-negative bacteria were the most common organism cultured, and 60% of the abscesses were polymicrobial. There was no in-house mortality in this review.