Abstract
BackgroundAmebic liver abscess is a tropical disease with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. Given the often nonspecific nature of the complaints related to amebic abscess, a retrospective review of patients with confirmed disease to recognize the most common patterns of presentation is useful. Here, we study the clinical presentations of 62 Thai patients with amebic liver abscess. We also compare the clinical presentations of Anti HIV seronegative and Anti HIV seropositive patients.MethodsA retrospective case review was carried out for 62 Thai patients who had been diagnosed with amebic liver abscess. Clinical information was collected, including symptoms and signs, location and number of abscesses. The Anti HIV serology laboratory investigation was also reviewed.ResultsAccording to our study, the common clinical symptoms and signs are abdominal pain (85.5 %), fever and chills (74.2 %), and abdominal tenderness (69.4 %). The location of the abscess was predominantly in the right lobe (74.2 %), and most of patients had a single abscess (77.4 %). Similar trends in clinical presentations were observed in both Anti HIV seropositive and Anti HIV seronegative subjects.ConclusionsIn conclusion, the clinical presentations of our amebic liver abscess patients were similar to those in previous reports. A similarity to those in the pyogenic liver abscess patients can be observed. Nevertheless, we could not detect important significant differences in the clinical presentations between Anti HIV seropositive and Anti HIV seronegative groups of patients.
Highlights
Amebic liver abscess is a tropical disease with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations
Significant differences exist in the prevalence of most gastroenterological emergencies in tropical countries compared with temperate countries [1]
In the 10-year admission period investigated, 62 patients were diagnosed as having amebic liver abscesses
Summary
Amebic liver abscess is a tropical disease with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. We study the clinical presentations of 62 Thai patients with amebic liver abscess. Significant differences exist in the prevalence of most gastroenterological emergencies in tropical countries compared with temperate countries [1]. Both ethnic and environmental, often clearly defined geographically, factors are relevant. Amebiasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica. This protozoan organism is the third leading parasitic cause of death in the developing world and is an important health risk to travelers in endemic areas [2]. This infection is common throughout the world and can be associated with life-threatening consequences [2,3,4,5]
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