A Prospective Comparative Study to evaluate drainage of liver abscess by 20 Fr PVC catheter versus 10 Fr pigtail catheter.

ABSTRACT

Background: Large liver abscess requires drainage by pigtail catheter. These catheters tend to get blocked frequently and thus takes long period of time to completely drain. So we wanted to study whether inserting a large bore catheter would drain the abscess faster thus decreasing the stay and requirement of antibiotics. Aim: To study the effectiveness of wide bore PVC catheter (20 Fr) in drainage of large peripheral liver abscess as compared to the use of pigtail catheter (10 Fr). Methods: The study was prospective comparative study done at a tertiary care hospital. Over a period of 22 months, 60 patients of amoebic liver abscess were assigned to undergo pigtail catheter drainage by 10 Fr. Versus wide bore 20 Fr PVC catheter drain and the outcomes were compared. Results: Use of wide bore (20 Fr) PVC catheter significantly decreased the duration of treatment, led to faster drainage of abscess and decreased incidence of recurrence in large amoebic liver abscess, as compared to pigtail catheter drainage by the standard 10 Fr pigtail catheter. Conclusion: 20 Fr PVC catheter is safe and efficacious for evacuating large solitary peripheral liver abscesses and should be preferred to narrow bore pigtail catheter.