Objective:To investigate the clinical and pathogenic characteristics of community acquired pyogenic liver abscess (PLA).Methods:The clinical data of 172 patients in First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University with community acquired PLA from March 2013 to September 2018 were retrospectively collected, including clinical characteristics, distribution of the causative pathogens, treatment regimens and outcomes. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.Results:There were 158(91.9%) cases with fever, 69(40.1%) cases with abdominal pain among 172 PLA cases. One hundred and forty-three (83.1%) were solitary, and 141(82.0%) cases localized in right hepatic lobe. One hundred and six (61.6%) cases were PLA of cryptogenic origin. There were 156 cases underwent etiology detection, with the positive etiology detection of 99(63.5%) cases. Ninety-two (92.9%) cases were infected with a single strain, and seven (7.1%) cases were infected with mixed strains. A total of 115 strains of bacteria were isolated. The main strains included 71 (61.7%) Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP), 21 (18.3%) Escherichia coli (EC), among which 17 were extended spectrum β lactamase, and two carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Among the 61 KP-PLA patients, 42(68.9%) cases were diagnosed with diabetes, 16(26.2%) cases with biliary diseases, and one (1.6%) case with malignant tumor. Among the 15 EC-PLA patients, six cases were diagnosed with diabetes, nine cases with biliary diseases, and four cases with malignant tumors. There were statistically significant differences ( χ2=4.307, 4.784 and 8.536, respectively, all P<0.05). After admission, the patients were treated with antibiotics alone or combined with drainage. One-hundred and sixty-seven (97.1%) cases got improved. Conclusions:The clinical manifestations of PLA are atypical, and the dominant pathogens are KP and EC. The risk factors of PLA are diabetes mellitus, biliary diseases and malignant tumors.

ObjectiveTo investigate the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the peripheral blood of patients with liver cirrhosis and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and its clinical significance in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis with PVT. MethodsA total of 60 patients with liver cirrhosis and PVT who were followed up or hospitalized in the outpatient service of The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2017 to December 2019 were enrolled as PVT group, and 161 patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension who had no thrombi were enrolled as LC group. Related clinical data were collected, including sex, age, white blood cell count, platelet count, total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, albumin, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, and antithrombin Ⅲ. Double-antibody sandwich ELISA was used to measure the serum level of VEGF. The t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. The Pearson correlation test was used for correlation analysis, and a binary logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for PVT in patients with liver cirrhosis. ResultsThe comparison of baseline indices showed that there was a significant difference in serum VEGF between the PVT group and the LC group (P＜0.05). The comparison of the patients with Child-Pugh class A, B or C disease showed that there was a significant difference in serum VEGF between the two groups (Z=3.749， 5.469， all P＜0.05). The stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that only serum VEGF (odds ratio=1004, 95% confidence interval: 1.003-1.006, P＜0.001) was an independent risk factor for liver cirrhosis with PVT. ConclusionPatients with liver cirrhosis and PVT tend to have a high level of VEGF in peripheral blood, which provides guidance for clinical diagnosis.