From November 1987, 136 children with bacterial
liver abscess were encountered. There were 97 males and 39 females and the age ranged from 1-15 years (mean = 8.42 years). The clinical signs and symptoms of
liver abscess were confirmed by radiography, ultrasonography, percutaneous transhepatic drainage (
PTHD) and
radioisotope scanning. 103 children had solitary
abscess and the remaining 33 children, multiple
abscesses. Of the children with multiple
abscesses, 23 had
abscesses confined to one lobe of the liver and 10 had involvement of both lobes of the liver. 86 children had culture of
liver abscesses done and only 63 (73.2%) yielded positive culture. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the commonest organisms cultured from
liver abscesses. 72 cases had drainage of
liver abscesses, one of them ended up with hepatic artery
ligation. A further 15 cases treated by
PTHD survived. Of the remaining 49 cases who had
antibiotic therapy, 2 died of
septicemia, giving a mortality rate of 1.47%. 36.3% of children with
liver abscesses responded to
antibiotic therapy. The indication and method for surgical management are discussed. Percutaneous transhepatic drainage (
PTHD) of
liver abscesses, under the guidance of ultrasonography is found to be safe and effective.