J Korean Surg Soc.  2001 Apr;60(4):456-459.

Succesful Treatment of Multiseptated Liver Abscess by Percutaneous Drainage with Urokinase

• Kim JY
• Han SJ
• Han AR
• Hwang EH

Abstract

Liver abscess is a rare disease but shows a high mortality rate. The standard treatment is complete drainage of the abscess through surgery or insertion of a percutaneous catheter and proper antibiotic treatment. However, successful percutaneous drainage in a multiseptated abscess has several drawbacks, such as the necessity for inserting more than one catheter for proper drainage, a necessity for repetitive cathterization and moreover, the ultimate failure of effective drainage causing surgery to become inevitable. The authors used 80,000 IU urokinase three times per day over 5 days to lyse the fibrous septum in a 9-year-old child with multiseptated liver abscess. Catheter drainage with urokinase under radiologic intervention yielded successful a outcome in the treatment of a multiseptated liver abscess.

Keyword

Multiseptated liver abscess; Urokinase; Percutaneous drainage

MeSH Terms

Abscess
Catheters
Child
Drainage*
Humans
Liver Abscess*
Liver*
Mortality
Rare Diseases
Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator*
Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator