Multiple Medium Amoebic Liver Abscesses Successfully Treated with Medication and Comprehensive Percutaneous Catheter Drainage

Intern Med. 2016;55(16):2307-10. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.55.5668. Epub 2016 Aug 15.

Abstract

Solitary small (<5 cm) amoebic liver abscesses in the right lobe are generally treated using medication alone, while large abscesses are typically treated via a combination of medication and drainage. However, the therapeutic indications for multiple medium (5-10 cm) amoebic liver abscesses remain unclear. We herein report the findings of a 53-year-old woman who was receiving lenalidomide for multiple myeloma and subsequently developed multiple amoebic abscesses. Metronidazole alone was unsuccessful, although metronidazole and repeated percutaneous catheter drainage of the right lobe, left lobe, and thorax proved to ultimately be successful. Therefore, the successful use of medication alone may be associated with the total combined abscess volume.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Catheterization / methods
  • Drainage / methods*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Factors / adverse effects*
  • Lenalidomide
  • Liver Abscess, Amebic / chemically induced*
  • Liver Abscess, Amebic / drug therapy
  • Liver Abscess, Amebic / pathology
  • Liver Abscess, Amebic / therapy
  • Metronidazole / therapeutic use*
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Myeloma / drug therapy*
  • Multiple Myeloma / pathology
  • Thalidomide / adverse effects
  • Thalidomide / analogs & derivatives*

Substances

  • Immunologic Factors
  • Metronidazole
  • Thalidomide
  • Lenalidomide