Drainage of liver abscess in adults

Drainage of a bacterial liver abscess (by therapeutic aspiration, closed catheter drainage or surgical drainage) should always be consideredBamberger, 1996Hope, 2008Lardiere-Deguelte, 2015Osman, 2018 – always seek a surgical opinion for the management of liver abscess. Surgical drainage may be needed for:

• more complicated bacterial liver abscesses (including multiple or loculated abscesses)
• cases with inadequate response to aspiration or drainage
• cases with inadequate response to 7 days of antibiotic therapy.

Drainage is not routinely required for the treatment of amoebic liver abscess, but may be indicated for:

• large abscesses (eg greater than 10 cm in diameter)
• abscesses at imminent risk of rupture
• cases where there is clinical deterioration or lack of response to antibiotic therapyLardiere-Deguelte, 2015.