Percutaneous drainage of pyogenic liver abscesses

Twenty-one patients with liver abscesses were treated by percutaneous drainage over a 2 1/2-year period. Percutaneous drainage was successful in 18 (85%) of 21 patients. Complications include 2 inadvertently dislodged catheters, 1 septicemia and 1 pleural effusion. There were 2 deaths. The low morbidity and high success rate in treating hepatic abscesses by percutaneous drainage suggest that this therapy should be tried before operative intervention is considered.