title: [Complications and yield of percutaneous liver biopsy with ultrasonographic marking].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the complications and the diagnostic yield of percutaneous liver biopsies performed under ultrasonographic control in an Internal Medicine department.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 750 percutaneous liver biopsies were performed at the Internal Medicine department of our institution during the 1995-2001 time period. The Menghini technique was employed previous ultrasonographic marking of the puncture site was performed by the same physicians who performed the biopsy. Major and minor complications as well as the diagnostic yield (obtention of diagnostic hepatic tissue) of the technique were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No deaths occurred in our series. Two patients (0.3%) had major complications presenting as liver subcapsular hematoma with hemoperitoneum which resolved with conservative measures. One of them was a male patient with acute leukemia and the other was a woman on antiaggregant therapy. Eight patients (1.1%) had minor complications (vasovagal syncope), all of them young males. In three cases no adequate material for diagnosis was obtained (technique yield 99.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our series, percutaneous liver biopsy with ultrasonographic marking is a diagnostic technique associated with a low rate of severe complications and with a high diagnostic yield. The use of ultrasonographic marking by the same physicians performed the biopsy does not involve a longer time or increased cost of the technique, provides more safety in the procedure and has a low morbidity rate. This procedure could be used on a routine basis for all percutaneous liver biopsies.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna. Hospital Clínico. Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago. Santiago de Compostela. La Coruña. Spain. mearturo@usc.es
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campos Franco
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Alende Sixto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González Quintela
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Otero Antón
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomé Martínez de Rituerto
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Torre Carballada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014463:Ultrasonography