Purpose: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) of cancer patients often has a poor prognosis, but corresponding prognostic factors are less investigated. This study aimed to identify predictors of mortality in cancer patients with PLA.
Patients and methods: Medical records of 85 consecutive cancer patients (46 with hepatobiliary pancreatic cancer, 14 with gastrointestinal cancer, and 25 with non-digestive system cancer) having PLA who were admitted to two university hospitals were retrospectively reviewed. The predictors of mortality were determined using Cox regression model.
Results: The overall case fatality rate was 33%. In multivariate analysis, the greater Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (P = 0.028), multiloculated abscess (P = 0.025), and polymicrobial infection (P = 0.003) were associated with mortality. In subgroup analysis of the 25 patients with multiloculated abscess undergoing percutaneous catheter drainage as primary treatment, the case fatality rates of patients with a solitary smaller abscess (size < 5 cm), those with a solitary larger abscess (size > 5 cm), and those with larger multiple abscesses were 0%, 36%, and 85%, respectively (P = 0.002; using χ (2) for trend).
Conclusions: The advanced disease stage, multiloculated abscess, and polymicrobial infection posed a greater mortality risk in cancer patients with PLA. Moreover, an early surgical approach should be considered for cancer patients having large, multiloculated complex PLAs.