title: [Usefulness of hepatic biopsy in an internal medicine service].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Study the percentage of clinical successes which have been confirmed by percutaneous hepatic biopsy guided by echography (PHBE) in those diseases which can affect the liver in an Internal Medicine service.
  
  
  METHODS
  78 patients were chosen for this study. All of them were admitted to hospital during the last eight years. Each patient had had a PHBE made regarding clinical, analytical and echographic criteria that were necessary to conclude their diagnostic studies. They were distributed into different groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients could be distributed into five different groups. There was a higher percentage of clinical successes on those who suffered from chronic hepatopathy derived from alcohol-addiction and on those with carcinomatous hepatopathies. When corroborating the diagnosis of clinical suspect, the diagnostic profitability of the biopsy proved to get down in the others groups, depending on it was the group of miscellaneous, dissociate cholestasis and, in the last place, unknownly originated fever.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diversity of diseases which can affect the liver in an Internal Medicine service gives PHBE a particular diagnostic character. The diagnosis of clinical suspect was confirmed in 78.2% of the total of cases that made up the different groups. Therefore, PHBE plays a main role in a large amount of hepatic repercussive diseases that are treated in Internal Medicine services where, despite the clinical suspect, a diagnostic corroboration is often required for a right treatment.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna B, Cátedra de Patología General, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Granada.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Miras Parra
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salvatierra Ossorio
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Gómez Jiménez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mantas-Avila
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hernández Quero
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de la Higuera Torres-Puchol
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional