Liver abscess: demographic, clinical, biochemical, imaging and microbial spectrum

Background: Liver abscesses are localized suppurative destruction of liver tissue due to infections of either bacterial (Pyogenic) or protozoa (Amoebic). Historically; pyogenic liver abscess has been described since the time of hippocrates (400 BC). Despite the more aggressive approach to treatment, the mortality rate remained at 60-80%.Methods: This Cross-sectional analytical study carried out at Department of Medicine, Al-Tibri Medical College Hospital, Karachi, from June 2017 to December 2018. All participants of either gender with diagnosis of liver abscess were included in this prospective study. Patients with co morbidities like malignancy, autoimmune disease or on immunosuppressive treatment for any reason were excluded from the study. Following confirmation of the diagnosis; different characteristics of either type of liver abscess like demographic, clinical features, biochemical and imaging findings were evaluated.Results: Data of 73 subjects, 65(89.0%) males and 08(11.0%) females were analyzed with mean age was 45.42±14.518 years. Fifty-four (73.97%) patients had pyogenic liver abscess while amoebic liver abscess was found in 19(26.03%) subjects. Clinically, the most common symptom was abdominal pain, found in 66(90.4%) subjects, followed by fever in 61(83.6%), hepatomegaly in 47(64.4%), jaundice in 18(24.7%) and vomiting in 10(13.7%) cases. Demographics and clinical features are shown in (Table 1).Conclusions: Local trends have been changing and majority of liver abscess were of pyogenic liver abscesses. Clinically, clear differentiation between two types of abscesses is not possible always but few manifestations like typical symptoms, raised alkaline phosphatase and leucocytosis may be helpful

Frequency of bloodstream infection in febrile neutropenic patients, experience from a developing country

Introduction: About 20% of febrile neutropenic patients are presented with bloodstream infection which is a leading cause of mortality among these patients. Awareness of the locally prevalent pathogens and their susceptibility pattern is important for proper treatment of infection which improves survival in these patients. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of bloodstream infection in patients with febrile neutropenia admitted in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.Methods; This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Medical wards in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi from 21-2-2016 to 20-8-2017. Patients of over 15 years of age of either gender with severe neutropenia were included in this study. Patients with noninfectious cause of fever, or fever prior to neutropenia were excluded. Patients meeting inclusion criteria were enrolled after taking informed consent. About 2-5 ml blood was collected under aseptic measures in Bactac culture bottles. Blood samples were sent to lab within 30 min of collection. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing of all isolates was performed on diagnostic Sensitivity test plates by Kerby - Bauer Method. Patients were referred back to treating physician if blood culture is positive. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results; Of 200 patients, the mean age was 25.8 ± 5.7 years, 120 (60%) were male with male to female ratio of 1.5:1, 89 (44.5%) had low grade fever (Temp. ≤102 °C) and 111 (55.5%) had high grade fever(Temp. \u3e102 °C). The frequency of staphylococcus aureus was 16%, E. coli was 14.5%, Pseudomonas 8.5% and Klebsiella 15.5.Conclusion: It is concluded that the frequency of staphylococcus aureus was 16%, E. coli was 14.5%, Pseudomonas 8.5% and Klebsiella 15.5