Demographic, Clinical, Laboratory and Management Profile in Patients of Amoebic Liver Abscess from Northern India

Background: Amoebic liver abscess (ALA) is a serious extra-intestinal manifestation of amoebiasis and a major problem in developing countries. Due to rapid urbanization, improved sanitation and hygiene in India, there has been a shift in disease epidemiology towards non-communicable disease, but recent changes in epidemiological and clinical pattern in ALA are not well studied. Aim: To evaluate recent demographic, clinical, laboratory and management profile in patient with ALA. Methods: It is a prospective observational study conducted in the Department of Gastroenterology, SMS medical college, Jaipur, Rajasthan from June 2018 to December 2020. A predesigned semi structured questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic factors, risk factors, clinical, laboratory and management profile was used to collect data. Result: A total 508 patients of amoebic liver abscess were analysed. Median age of presentation was 40 years, majority were males (90.4%) with chronic alcoholism (44.1%) and belonging to lower socio-economic class. Abdominal pain, fever and anorexia were the most common symptoms. A majority had right lobe involvement (77.6%) and solitary abscess in 67.5%. Most of the small liver abscesses (68%) were managed by medical treatment alone. Percutaneous needle aspiration was done in 62.6% patients, mostly for abscess size 5-10 cm (93%) with 90% success. A total of 24.6% patients underwent percutaneous catheter drainage, all successfully done. Intraperitoneal rupture was seen in 10% patient. Mortality was 1.5%. Conclusion: This is one of the largest cohorts of ALA which shows that a majority of cases are males from lower socioeconomic status with history of significant alcohol intake. Early initiation of a combined therapeutic approach leads to early symptomatic improvement, fewer complications and better outcomes.