Liver abscess

Liver abscess
Classification and external resources
ICD-10	K75.0
ICD-9	572.0
DiseasesDB	22094
MedlinePlus	000261
eMedicine	med/1316
MeSH	D008100

A liver abscess is a pus-filled mass inside the liver. Common causes are abdominal infections such as appendicitis or diverticulitis due to haematogenous spread through the portal vein. With treatment, the death rate is 10–30%.

Types

There are three major forms of liver abscess, classified by etiology:

• Pyogenic liver abscess, which is most often polymicrobial, accounts for 80% of hepatic abscess cases in the United States.
• Amoebic liver abscess due to Entamoeba histolytica accounts for 10% of cases.
• Fungal abscess, most often due to Candida species, accounts for less than 10% of cases.