Introduction

Mixed bacterial flora are responsible for the development of numerous abscesses, particularly those that are a consequence of systemic infection (septicaemia) originating from pathologies within abdominal organs or biliary ducts. The number and volume of abscesses may vary, which influences the method of treatment.

Aim

To assess the effectiveness of a minimally invasive percutaneous drainage of liver abscesses.

Material and methods

A total of 37 patients were treated for liver abscess in the years 2007–2016. The treatment involved sonographically guided percutaneous drainage of liver abscess.

Results

A total of 35 patients with a solitary abscess were successfully cured with minimally invasive percutaneous drainage. Two patients with abscesses volume > 20 cm3 were treated surgically after ineffective percutaneous drainage.

Conclusions

Percutaneous drainage is effective in the treatment of solitary liver abscesses volume < 5 cm3. Irregularly shaped abscesses are effectively drained with multisite drainage. Hybrid drainage (endoscopic and percutaneous) is a method of choice in the treatment of abscesses resulting from biliary duct obstruction. Statistical significance regarding inflammatory markers was found only for C-reactive protein (CRP), because it correlated with the effectiveness of drainage, i.e. the possibility of drainage effectiveness decreased with the increase in CRP values.