title: Liver abscess caused by an unnoticed swallowed toothpick perforating the colonic wall.
abstract: We present an unusual case of a liver abscess caused by a swallowed toothpick in a 43-year-old man. The abscess was first punctured under percutaneous ultrasound control and intraveneous administration of antibiotics whereas the diagnosis of the foreign body stuck in the sigmoid bowel wall was only made by a follow-up computed tomography since the patient had no complains indicating a colonic pathology. Even more, the patient did not remember ever having ingested a foreign body. The wooden toothpick was then successfully removed by endoscopy. The case report stresses the need for a search of the cause of unexplained liver abscesses and highlights the importance of computed tomography as the first imaging technique as the foreign body was missed on the ultrasound examination. Finally, the non-surgical treatment as first line management of liver abscesses will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Centre Hospitalier Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Serwe
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strock
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lens
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003106:Colon / Q000293:injuries*; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007416:Intestinal Perforation / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008100:Liver Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male