Intracavitary Urokinase in the Treatment of Multiloculated Liver Abscess: A case report

ABSTRACT

Radiologically-guided percutaneous abscess drainage has been preferred as a therapeutic modality for hepatic abscesses, though where these have been septated or multilocular, its success rate has often been low. The results of several clinical and in vitro studies have recently suggested that in difficult cases, where abscesses occur in the peritoneal cavity and retroperitoneum, or multiloculated empyema of the thorax, urokinase may be useful. To our knowledge, however, there has been only one report of a case of liver abscess in which intracavitary urokinase was administered. The authors therefore report a case of multiseptated hepatic abscess occuring in a 53-year-man. Conventional percutaneous tube drainage failed, but the use of transcatheter intracavitary urokinase was successful. Diagnosis and continuing assessment involved a combination of ultrasound and CT scanning.