Ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage of abdominal abscesses in the hands of the clinician: a multicenter Italian study.
OBJECTIVE
Image guided percutaneous drainage is a well established therapeutic technique. The results of these procedures, when performed directly by the clinician and under sonographic guidance,in respect to other imaging techniques are not yet clarified.


METHODS
The 886 cases of ultrasound guided drainage were collected from eight italian clinical institutions and the results were analyzed according to location of the abscess, drainage technique, underlying diseases, microbiological findings, immunological patient status and previous surgical intervention.


RESULTS
We observed an overall cure rate of 90.4%. The best results were obtained in hepatic abscesses, both amoebic and pyogenic (cure rate 98.7 and 94.3%). Slightly lower cure rates were obtained in abdominal and splenic abscesses, postoperative collections and severely immunocompromised patients. The frequency of complications was low (6.6%) and mostly related to catheter drainage. No drainage-related deaths occurred.


CONCLUSIONS
The study confirms the high clinical efficiency and safety of ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage, even when performed directly by the clinician. The sonographic guidance showed similar efficacy, more manageability and lower costs than other imaging techniques and it should be preferred whenever possible. For hepatic abscesses, ultrasound guided needle aspiration showed good results and less complications than catheter drainage.
Civardi
G
G
1a Divisione di Medicina, Ospedale Civile, V. Taverna 49, 29100 Piacenza, Italy.
Di Candio
G
G
Giorgio
A
A
Goletti
O
O
Ceragioli
T
T
Filice
C
C
Caremani
M
M
Buscarini
L
L
D018784:Abdominal Abscess / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D013396:Suction / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography