VALUE OF CULTURE OF PUS VIA PERCUTANEOUS DRAINAGE UNDER SONOGRAPHIC GUIDANCE IN DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY OF PYOGENIC LIVER-ABSCESS

Pyogenic hepatic abscess is often a serious disease, whose rates of cu re are proportional to the timeliness of treatment and the correct use of antibiotics. The final choice of antibiotics should be guided by t he results of a culture. Local cultures of pus are more often positive than blood cultures It is essential to plan an effective treatment re gimen when dealing with immunocompromised patients. Our results, regar ding 85 patients with pyogenic liver abscess, 19 of which were immunoc ompromised, seen at our Department from 1980 to 1992, indicate that pl anning the therapy on the base of blood culture alone means a 78% risk of inappropriate treatment.