Amoebic liver abscess

Amoebic liver abscess is produced by involvement of liver by entamoeba histolytica. It is one type of disease occur due to infections. The clinical manifestations are insidious onset of fever, sweats, weight loss, chills and rigors. Some patients have an acute onset of fever. There may be pain in the right hypochondrium resulting from stretching of the liver capsule. Diaphragmatic irritation may give rise to referred pain in the right shoulder. Clinical examination may reveal enlargement of the liver, upward extension of the liver dullness on percussion, point tenderness in the poster lateral portion of lower right intercostal space and bulging of the intercostal spaces. Amoebic liver abscess has some complications such as spontaneous external rupture may result in granuloma cutis, direct extension into lung may result in amoebic lung abscess, and rupture into peritoneal cavity may result in peritonitis, metastatic brain abscess, spleenic abscess and rupture into stomach are rare complications. Immunodiagnostic tests are less invasive and are useful in community surveillance studies, skin test to demonstrate delayed type hypersensitivity is positive only in patients with cured kala-azar, increased productions of immunoglobulin’s and chopra’s antimony tests. Blood transfusions to correct anaemia and treatment of intercurrent bacterial infections with antibodies are the best treatment.