BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although pyogenic liver abscesses (PLAs) can be successfully treated, the visual prognosis of patients with endogenous endophthalmitis (EE) associated with a PLA is poor. Early diagnosis and prompt intervention may salvage useful vision. Therefore, we investigated risk factors for EE in patients with PLA, to facilitate early diagnosis. METHODS: Data from 626 patients diagnosed with PLA between January 2004 and July 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups: those with liver abscess-associated endogenous endophthalmitis (LAEE) and non-LAEE. RESULTS: The prevalence of EE in PLA patients was 1.92%. The mean age for all patients (373 males, 59.6%) was 62.8 years. Upon multivariate logistic regression, a liver abscess or another systemic infection (odds ratio [OR], 5.52; p = 0.005), an abscess in the right superior segment (OR, 5.26; p = 0.035), and Klebsiella pneumoniae infection (OR, 3.68; p = 0.039), were risk factors for LAEE. The final visual outcomes of patients with LAEE included no light perception in seven, hand motion only in three, and decreased visual acuity in two. Vitrectomy and early intravitreal injections of antibiotics improved visual acuity and preserved useful vision. CONCLUSIONS: PLA patients with other systemic infections, abscesses in the right superior segment, and K. pneumoniae infection require close monitoring and early intervention to treat LAEE. Intravitreal antibiotic injections or early vitrectomy may salvage useful vision.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Early Diagnosis ; Endophthalmitis/diagnosis/*epidemiology/microbiology/therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Intravitreal Injections ; Liver Abscess, Pyogenic/diagnosis/*epidemiology/microbiology ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity ; Vitrectomy

Most mediastinal abscesses result from infections after thoracotomy, esophageal perforation or pene- trating chest trauma. This disease is rarely caused by closed blunt chest trauma. All previously reported such cases after closed blunt chest trauma presented with hematoma and sternal osteomyelitis resulting from sternal fracture. Here we report a 15-year-old sumo wrestler who presented with an anterior mediastinal abscess without any mediastinal fracture. The mediastinal abscess resulted from the hematogenous spread of Staphylococcus aureus to a hematoma that might have been caused by a closed blunt chest trauma incurred during sumo wrestling exercises.
Abscess ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Adolescent ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Debridement ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drainage ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mediastinal Diseases ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Staphylococcal Infections ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Thoracic Injuries ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Wounds, Nonpenetrating ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Wrestling ; injuries

Bacillus megaterium ; pathogenicity ; Brain Abscess ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Primary hepatic actinomycosis is one of the chronic abscess-forming infections of the liver. Accurate diagnosis is frequently delayed due to its indolent course and nonspecific clinical and radiological manifestations. We report a case of a 57-year-old man presenting with asymptomatic multiple hepatic masses on follow-up abdominal computed tomography performed 1 year after stomach cancer surgery. Although a percutaneous liver biopsy procedure was conducted twice in order to obtain confirmative pathology, only a nonspecific organizing abscess with plasma cell infiltration was revealed, without identification of any organism in the tissue cultures. Ultimately, actinomycosis was diagnosed following the detection of sulfur granules on open surgical biopsied tissue. This case suggests that primary hepatic actinomycosis should be considered as one of the possible causes for enigmatic inflammatory lesions of the liver.
Actinomycosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Biopsy, Needle ; Humans ; Liver Abscess/complications ; Liver Diseases/*diagnosis/microbiology/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Here we report a case of 41-year-old man with a soft tissue density mass at right upper lung and palpable abscesses at right upper backside and right wrist. ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography demonstrated a 7.8 × 5.0 cm mass with soft-tissue density in the upper lobe of the right lung with high metabolic activity. The infiltrative mass extended to adjacent chest wall soft tissue. Final diagnosis of pulmonary actinomycosis with multiple abscesses was made. The patient responded well to antibiotics treatment.
Abscess ; Actinomycosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/chemistry ; Humans ; Lung Diseases/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology ; Male ; *Positron-Emission Tomography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Primary aortoenteric fistula (PAEF) is a rare but catastrophic cause of massive gastrointestinal bleeding. Diagnosis of PAEF is difficult to make and is frequently delayed without strong clinical suspicion. Timely surgical intervention is essential for patient's survival. We report on a case of an 86-year-old woman with no history of abdominal surgery, who presented with abdominal pain. Initially, computed tomography scan showed an intra-abdominal abscess, located anterior to the aortic bifurcation. However, she was discharged without treatment because of spontaneous improvement on a follow-up computed tomography scan, which showed a newly developed right common iliac artery aneurysm. One week later, she was readmitted due to recurrent abdominal pain. On the second day of admission, sudden onset of gastrointestinal bleeding occurred for the first time. After several endoscopic examinations, an aortoenteric fistula bleeding site was found in the sigmoid colon, and aortography showed progression of a right common iliac artery aneurysm. We finally concluded that intra-abdominal abscess induced an infected aortic aneurysm and enteric fistula to the sigmoid colon. This case demonstrated an extremely rare type of PAEF to the sigmoid colon caused by an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm, which has rarely been reported.
Abdominal Abscess/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aorta, Abdominal/radiography ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/*diagnosis/etiology ; Bacteroides/isolation & purification ; Bacteroides fragilis/isolation & purification ; Colon, Sigmoid/radiography ; Colonoscopy ; Enterococcus/isolation & purification ; Female ; Fistula/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Abscess/diagnosis/*microbiology/therapy ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Biopsy, Needle/*adverse effects ; Drainage ; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections/diagnosis/*microbiology/therapy ; Humans ; Image-Guided Biopsy/*adverse effects ; Lung/*pathology/radiography ; Male ; Peptostreptococcus/*isolation & purification ; Thoracic Wall/*microbiology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome

The authors report a caruncular abscess caused by actinomycosis. A 47-year-old woman was admitted with persistent purulent discharge from the caruncle of the left eye for a duration of six months. Excisional drainage was performed, and 'sulfur granules' were observed, consistent with actinomyces infection. Intraoperative lacrimal probing and irrigation were performed to confirm that the abscess and canaliculus were not connected. Oral and topical antibiotics were administered postoperatively; the lesion resolved with no evidence of recurrence, and the symptom improved.
Abscess/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Actinomycosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Middle Aged

Abscess ; microbiology ; Adolescent ; Humans ; Leg ; Lemierre Syndrome ; complications ; diagnosis ; Male

Tuberculous liver abscesses are rare. Paradoxical response in tuberculosis is common and occurred between 2 weeks and 12 weeks after anti-tuberculous medication. We report here a case of tuberculous liver abscess that developed in a paradoxical response during chemotherapy for tuberculous peritonitis in a 23-year-old male. He was hospitalized, complaining of ascites, epigastric pain. He was diagnosed tuberculous peritonitis by expiratory laparoscopic biopsy and took medication for tuberculosis. After 2 months, a hepatic lesion was detected with CT scan incidentally. Chronic granulomatous inflammation was seen in ultrasound-guided liver biopsy, and tuberculous liver abscess was diasnosed. It was considered as paradoxical response, rather than treatment failure or other else because clinical symptoms of peritoneal tuberculosis and CT scan improved. After continuing initial anti-tuberculous medication, he was successfully treated. Herein, we report a case of tuberculous liver abscess as paradoxical response while treating peritoneal tuberculosis without changing anti-tuberculous treatment regimen.
Antitubercular Agents/*adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; DNA, Bacterial/analysis ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Liver/pathology/ultrasonography ; Liver Abscess/*chemically induced/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Male ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics/isolation & purification ; Necrosis/pathology ; Peritoneum/pathology ; Peritonitis, Tuberculous/*drug therapy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tuberculosis/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Young Adult