Child Liver Abcess: Study of 12 Cases in the Pediatric Ward of the District Hospital of Bamako

Abstract

Hepatic abscess is a suppurative collection developed in a neoformed hepatic cavity as a result of the invasion and multiplication of micro-organisms. The prognosis depends on early diagnosis and rapid treatment. The aim of the study was to determine the clinical, biological, ultrasound and therapeutic characteristics of liver abscesses in children aged between 1 month and 15 years hospitalised in the Paediatrics Ward of the District Hospital in Commune V, Bamako. This was a retrospective descriptive study which took place from January 2017 to December 2020, i.e. a period of 4 years, and a prospective study from January 2019 to December 2020, including all children aged between 1 and 15 years in whom the diagnosis of liver abscess had been confirmed by liver ultrasound. Out of 2756 children hospitalised during the study period from January 2017 to December 2020, i.e. a période of 4 years, 12 patients were diagnosed with liver abscess, i.e. a frequency of 0.43% or 4 cases/1000 admissions, with a female predominance of 58.3%, i.e. a sex ratio of 0.7. The mean age was 57 ± 34 months, with extremes of 16 and 120 months. The main reason for consultation was abdominal pain associated with fever, accounting for 75% of patients. Pus culture was positive for Staphylococcus Aureus in one patient (8%). Amebic serology was positive in 33% of patients. Ultrasound revealed a predominance of single abscesses located in the right lobe of the liver in 42% of patients. However, 92% of patients were cured, with an average hospital stay of 12 days, ranging from 2 to 19 days. Liver abscesses uncommon in our context, an early diagnosis and management can improve the prognosis.