Particulars of Medical and Surgical Treatment of Liver Abscess in Septic Patient– Case Report

First described by Bright in 1836, who reports two cases secondary to suppurative angiocolitis and pilephlebitis, intrahepatic suppurations were, until the era of the discovery of antibiotics, one of the most dreaded causes of mortality, reaching a rate of almost 100%. Today, both the incidence of liver abscesses and the mortality rate have been significantly reduced, as the introduction of antibiotics has dramatically reduced the number of septic piles due to peritoneal outbreaks. Their etiology is more recently, most frequently, a biliary or neoplastic disease. On the other hand, the improvement of germ isolation techniques has made it possible to identify anaerobic germs with maximum frequency, and diagnostic and treatment performance has increased so much with the advent of non-invasive or minimally-invasive procedures that the overall mortality rate of 70% in 1975 is now about 30–38%.

We present the case of a 75-year-old male patient with no known history of ilnesses who is admitted for fever, chills, myalgia, arthralgia and visual disturbances with onset of approximately one week. Biologically he presents with leukocytosis with marked neutrophilia, mild thrombocytopenia and significant biological inflammatory syndrome. Suspicion is raised for a diagnosis of Sepsis with unspecified starting point with possible pyogenic cavernous sinus thrombosis, a complication suggested by the presence of visual disturbances. Neuro-imaging evaluation by CT and brain MRI is performed, with the diagnosis of thrombosis being refuted. Abdominal CT is performed which identifies a space replacement formation in the left hepatic lobe for which MRI evaluation is required. MRI detects an expansive hepatic formation with semiology suggestive of liver abscess. Treatment was instituted with a combination of broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungal treatment, but the evolution was unfavourable with maintenance of leukocytosis with marked neutrophilia and progression of inflammatory samples. It was necessary to evaluate the case by a multidisciplinary team (infectious disease specialist, gastroenterologist, surgeon) to establish the appropriate therapeutic management, with surgical resolution of the case, with a favourable postoperative evolution.